Watch your back when dealing with the French.

BBC News 10 September 2012 Last updated at 15:13 ET
Syria defector Manaf Tlas hints at French intelligence aid

Key Syrian defector Gen Manaf Tlas has hinted that French secret agents helped him flee Syria in early July.

He said French "services" had helped him escape but refused to be drawn on how, only thanking the French government.

He warned that if the Damascus regime was subjected to more pressure, it could resort to using chemical weapons.

Gen Tlas was speaking from his refuge in Paris to interviewers from BBC Arabic and French news channel BFMTV.

His defection was seen as a major blow to the Damascus government.

Not only did he command the elite 10th Brigade of the Republican Guard, but his father Mustafa Tlas served as defence minister for 30 years and was a confidant of Hafez al-Assad, the president's father and predecessor.

BBC NEWS @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19549304