Unsurprising was the departure of the unfaithful Colonel Manaf Tlass probably to Paris among those who know him as well as the parties of the Syrian regime. This is due to being excluded from his military missions as the leader of Group 105 in the Presidential Guard since a way long duration. All of his family members departed Syria as well: his father Colonel Mostafa Tlass (the head of the Ministry of Defense for 30 years), his brother Firas (the businessman who transferred his work to Dubai, his wife Tala (who left the school she was directing), and his sons.
Reportedly, the dispute between him and the president started when he failed to mediate between the government and the militias in the Rastan, Homs, to where the roots of his family are related. It is also reported that Tlass refused encountering the militias in Baba Amro, and he resented the President's disapproval to his demand of promotion. And then he left Syria, actually since the beginning of April, noting that the Syrian authorities were aware of that.
Other stories mentioned that both the French and the Israeli intelligence were involved in "smuggling" him. The French role was clear since the French Foreign Minister boastfully announced Tlass's dissent in the recent conference for the Friends of Syria in Paris asserting that he is coming to France... yet the Israeli role might be surprising and excluded because Colonel Manaf (the friend of President Assad since childhood), as well as his father General Mostafa Tlass (the companion of late President Hafez Assad) belong to a family who was a major part in establishing the modern Syria; which represents the stronghold of the resistance to the western Zionist plan in the region...
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