Turkish state TV reports defections of Syria officers

ANKARA (Reuters) - 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, without giving any further details.

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.

(Singapore Asia desk, +65 6870 3815)