NEW : Activist says Brig . Gen. Tlas does n't plan to join the opposition at present . Manaf Tlas was perhaps the most senior Western in Syria regime , scholar says . Tlas was disgusted with the killing of Sunnis , a Sunnis official says . Tlas saved himself at the very last moment . '' The Tlas family knows `` how the place is wired , '' a Syria expert says .
NEW : Activist says Brig . Gen. Tlas does n't plan to join the opposition at present . Manaf Tlas was perhaps the most senior Western in Syria regime , scholar says . Tlas was disgusted with the killing of Sunnis , a Sunnis official says . The Tlas family knows `` how the place is wired , '' a Syria expert says .