A Syrian general, two colonels two majors, one lieutenant and 33 soldiers have defected from President Bashar al-Assad's forces and arrived in Turkey, Turkish state television said on Monday, June 25, without giving any further details.

According to Reuters, the private news channel CNN Turk also reported the defections of the soldiers, but said they had arrived with members of their families, making a total of 224 individuals.

Earlier, The Telegraph reported that members of Assad’s inner circle are secretly making plans to defect to the opposition should the Syrian regime become critically threatened by the rebellion.