Manaf

High Profile Defector Speaks

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• published: 15 Jul 2012
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CNN's Fredricka Whitfield talks to Ivan Watson about his interview with the highest level official to defect from Syria. Would you like to know more? CNN's Ivan Watson Interviews Nawaf Al Fares http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0iD7DUF72k Ex-Syrian ambassador calls for foreign military intervention http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/15/world/meast/syria-defector-interview/index.html Profile: Manaf Tlas http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18734785 "Brig Gen Tlas, said to be in his mid-40s, is a member of Syria's most powerful Sunni family, which has given its support to the Assad's Alawite clan for decades. The general's father, Mustafa Tlas, was Syria's longest serving defence minister, who helped to ensure Mr Assad's succession to the presidency in 2000 following the death of his father. As a young man, Gen Tlas also attended military training with President Assad." Syrian defectors accuse Assad relatives of ordering crimes against humanity http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/27/syrian-defectors-assad-relatives "New evidence has emerged claiming that members of Bashar al-Assad's family and inner circle are directly ordering the commission of crimes against humanity in Syria. Experts in international law consider it "preposterous and completely implausible" that the president would be unaware of systematic and widespread killing and torture. Defectors from Syrian intelligence and security agencies, used by the regime to crush the revolt, claim that Assad's cousin issued shoot-to-kill orders against civilian protesters in Dera'a, the cradle of the insurrection. Kill quotas were reportedly issued to snipers tasked with assassinating pro-democracy activists." Syrian defectors on streets of Damascus http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/03/2012318336519969.html "Al Jazeera has gained exclusive access to defectors from the Syrian army now allied with the country's opposition secretly operating under the noses of the government and security forces in the capital, Damascus." Defectors Recount Tales of Conflict; 'Blood on My Hands' http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304356604577337940580477550.html "Sitting among family in this Jordanian town on the Syrian border, an ex-army intelligence officer recounted how he worked against rebel forces by intimidating family members to prevent military defections. Now he's a defector."