A Syrian general from a powerful family close to President Bashar al-Assad defects and is on his way to Paris, the French government confirms.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius described the defection of Brigadier General Manaf Tlass as a “hard blow for the regime”, showing Assad’s grip on Syria was loosening.
Tlass fled Syria via Turkey, his family confirmed.
Speaking at a meeting of Friends of Syria in Paris, Mr Fabius said: “A senior official from the Syrian regime, a commander in the Republican Guard, has defected and is headed to Paris.
“Even those close to Assad have begun to understand that one cannot support a slaughterer like Bashar al-Assad.”
His father, former Syrian defence minister Mustafa Tlass, is reportedly living in France.
Tlass has been under a form of home arrest since May 2011 because he opposed the security solution that the regime has been implementing, sources say.
“If he has indeed fled the country, the regime will be thrown back on its heels,” Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma, said on Thursday in a post on his blog Syria Comment.
Writing in his blog, Channel 4 News foreign correspondent Jonathan Rugman said: “It is too early to say whether General Tlass will trigger further significant defections, or offer himself up from exile as a potential leader of a transitional government in Syria.”
Tlass’s departure comes as French President Francois Hollande is hosting a Paris Friends of Syria conference with representatives of more than 100 countries to try to find a way to end the violence.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the representatives to persuade Russia and China to end their support for the Syrian regime.
Read Jonathan Rugman's blog on Tlass's defection
“I ask you to reach out to Russia and China and to not only urge but demand that they get off the sidelines and begin to support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people,” she said.
“I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all, nothing at all, for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime.”
The Paris meeting follows similar events in Tunis and Istanbul which demanded tougher action against the Assad regime.
Russia and China, which both hold vetoes in the Security Council, are not at the meeting.
UN diplomats are working on a document calling for restrictions on commercial activity if Mr Assad fails to abide by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan and roadmap for a political transition.