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In what could be the biggest defection from Bashar al-Assad's regime since the start of the Syrian uprising, a senior general and friend of the president has fled the country and is making his way to Paris, according to multiple reports.

The BBC reports that Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlas, a commander in Syria's elite Republican guard, escaped his home in Damascus, where he was under a form of house arrest, and fled to Turkey in the past few days. General Tlas reportedly split with the regime out of frustration with its deadly crackdown on the opposition. The BBC writes that it is unclear what Tlas's intentions are, but notes that Paris is currently hosting a conference of more than 100 countries that are attempting to resolve the violence in Syria.

Tlas's defection has been confirmed by sources both inside and outside Assad's regime. The pro-government website Syriasteps cited a Syrian official acknowledging Tlas's departure, reports the Daily Telegraph, though the official dismissed Tlas's escape as "not mean[ing] anything."聽 And two other officials, one a Syrian rebel, the other an American, both confirmed Tlas's defection, reports Al Jazeera.

Joshua Landis of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma wrote on his blog, Syria Comment, that his eyewitness sources say Tlas's home in Damascus was being ransacked on Thursday.

Tlas's defection is particularly noteworthy because of his place in the highest echelons of the Syrian government. Tlas is a friend of President Assad's, and commander of a brigade of Syria's Republican Guard, an elite force headed by the president's brother, Maher al-Assad. Tlas's father, Mustafa, served as Syria's defense minister from 1972 to 2004.聽

The BBC writes that Tlas's father, now retired, is currently reported to be in Paris.

And The Daily Star of Lebanon notes that unlike most of Assad's regime, who are members of the minority Alawite sect, the Tlas family is part of Syria's Sunni majority, and that Tlas's defection "may reflect an erosion of support for the president among wealthy Sunnis."

The Guardian's Martin Chulov said that Tlas was not "a direct member of the inner sanctum, but he was certainly taken into the confidence of the inner sanctum," and that despite the Syrian government's dismissal of Tlas's defection, "it does matter."

The Guardian notes that another general also defected from Syria in the past three days, according to a Turkish government official. Although not named, the general is from an engineering division, the official said.