High-ranking general defects from Syrian military By Elise Labott, CNN July 6, 2012 -- Updated 0936 GMT (1736 HKT) Manaf Tlas is a member of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle He defected to Turkey over the killing of Syrian Sunnis, a Western diplomat says Tlas' father is a former Syrian defense minister Paris (CNN) -- Manaf Tlas, a general in Syria's elite Republican Guards, has defected to Turkey, a Western diplomat said Friday. Tlas is the son of a former Syrian defense minister and cousin of a first lieutenant in President Bashar al-Assad's army. He's an inside confidant of Assad. So it counts that even an insider thinks it's time to go," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to speak to the media. Tlas is estranged from the regime over the killing of Sunnis, the official said. His father, a former defense minister, and the rest of his family are in Paris, the official said. Reports of Tlas defection first surfaced Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether he was still in Turkey or making his way to Paris to join his family.