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General Tlass Defects from Syria's Republican Guard
(Daily Star-Lebanon) Manaf Tlass' father Mustapha was defense minister under Assad's father for 30 years. Tlass is a rare representative of the Sunni Muslim majority in a political elite and officer corps dominated by Assad's fellow Alawites, and his break may reflect an erosion of support for the regime among wealthy Sunnis. A Western diplomat who knew Tlass in Damascus told Reuters: "His defection is big news because it shows that the inner circle is disintegrating."