Manaf Tlass is a former senior Brigadier General of the Syrian Army, known as the first Syrian Republican Guard soldier to defect and join the Syrian opposition.
In 2012 he defected to France after Al-Assad ordered him to suppress the uprising in his city of Hama.
Analyst Ilir Kulla writes that Assad would be in a completely different situation today if he had listened to his general's advice.
"This one on Assad's side is Menaf Tlass, at that time an important general and friend of Bashar, who was also President. Menaf was the son of Mustafa Tlass, the Minister of Defense of Bashar's father Hafez. The Tlass family is Sunni and when Bashar sent him to suppress the revolt in Hama in 2012, he was originally from Hama.
At this moment, Menafi says, "We have the army to protect the country, not to kill our people," and he joined the opposition, leading the Free Syrian Army. If Bashar had followed his friend's advice, he would certainly not be in power as he is today. But he would have saved thousands of lives and would not have destroyed the country. Leaders must understand that there are no immortals," writes Kulla.