Manaf Tlass
مناف طلاس
Also known as: Abu Khaled • Manaf Tlas • Manaf Talas
Journeys
Manaf Tlass: Assad's General Who Refused to Fire
Manaf Tlass's defection represented the most significant crack in Assad's Sunni inner circle during the first two years of the conflict.
Manaf Tlass: The Insider Who Left
Manaf Tlass represented everything the Assad inner circle could offer: family connection through his father, personal friendship with Bashar, elite military command. His defection in July 2012 — weeks before the Damascus bombing that killed Assef Shawkat — suggested the inner circle was cracking. But his subsequent failure to become a credible opposition figure showed the limits of defection without a political program.
Biography
Manaf Tlass was a Syrian Republican Guard Brigadier General, commander of the 105th Brigade, and childhood friend of Bashar al-Assad. Son of longtime Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass, he was one of the most prominent Sunnis inside the Assad inner circle. He reportedly refused orders to fire on civilians in Homs in early 2012 and was placed under house arrest. He defected to Turkey in early July 2012 — announced July 6, 2012 — becoming the first Republican Guard commander to break with the regime. His defection was symbolically significant as evidence of fractures within Assad's most trusted military institution.