Syrian general from inner circle defects and ‘flees to Turkey’

Sources said Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, a member of the elite Republican Guards and the son of a former defence minister, has abandoned the regime.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other opposition websites claim Gen Tlaas fled to Turkey.

The defection is a fresh blow to Assad just as the US and its European partners threaten new sanctions, while the opposition urges military intervention.

Brig Gen Tlass’s departure came as diplomats met in Paris at a so-called Friends of Syria conference, aimed at bolstering the resistance and pressing the country’s allies to discuss transition strategies after 16 months of brutal crackdowns and civil war.

The US and its European partners are threatening new sanctions on Assad’s regime if he does not act on a new peace plan, but the fractured Syrian opposition is seeking quick military actions instead.

Hassan Hashimi, general secretary of the opposition Syrian National Council, said the international community is still moving too slowly.

Going into yesterday’s meeting, he said he hoped to see a “tough stand” by diplomats, and a no-fly zone to prevent military forces “flying over defected soldiers and civilians and bombarding them”.

But military intervention is not on the immediate horizon. US officials say they are focusing on economic pressure, and Barack Obama’s administration says it will not intervene militarily or provide weapons to the Syrian rebels for what it considers to be an already over-militarised conflict.

Russia, a key Syrian ally, was not taking part in the conference.

The French hosts, meanwhile, have taken a firm stance against Assad. What’s happening in Syria “is a threat for international peace and security,” French president Francois Hollande said.

“Bashar Assad must leave. A transitional government should be formed. It’s in everyone’s interest,” he said.

Mr Hollande urged “real and effective” sanctions and urged all participants to pledge support for democratic opposition and organise effective humanitarian aid.

A UN resolution could be introduced next week, according to American officials. But with neither Moscow nor Beijing in attendance, much will depend on persuading the two reluctant powers to pressure Assad into action.

The objections of Russia and China also effectively watered down UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s blueprint for transition at a conference in Geneva last weekend. It grants Assad an effective veto over any interim government candidate he opposes. The opposition would gain the same power.

Activists reported at least 26 people killed across Syria yesterday in clashes between troops and rebels and government shelling across the country. They say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the revolt began.

The path to a post-Assad Syria is complicated and treacherous.

A year after President Barack Obama and many European and Arab leaders issued blanket statements calling for an end to the four-decade Assad dynasty, they now are left looking for piecemeal advances against a regime continuing to command sufficient support – at least to hold on to power, if not snuff out the rebellion – among Syria’s minorities, business elite and military.

Syrian opposition groups who gathered with Arab countries earlier this week in Cairo have struggled to find unity. They are hoping their six-page “vision” for transition, complete with details on a new parliament and constitution, will allay fears that the Sunni militants leading the fight against the regime mean to grab all the power.