Syrian President Assad Is Running Out Of Troops Willing To Fight For Him

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reaches out to shake the hand of a Syrian army soldier in eastern Ghouta, Syria, March 18, 2018. SANA / Reuters

Sam Dagher, The Atlantic: Assad Is Desperate for Soldiers

The problem is that few want to fight for him.

TRIPOLI, Lebanon—In late March, the Assad regime released a propaganda video aimed at the young men of Syria. In the video, titled “Braids of Fire,” Asma al-Assad, the wife of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, stands before a squad of female army volunteers dressed in camouflage and army boots. “You are far stronger and more courageous than many men because when the going got tough, you were on the front lines, and they were the ones running away or hiding,” she declares. Her words are intercut with images of the women volunteers in combat training, as well as testimonials from the women and their mothers. The underlying message: Shame on you men for fleeing military service—a “sacred duty” enumerated in Syria’s constitution.

When protests against the Assad regime began in 2011, the Syrian army numbered about 250,000. But tens of thousands of defections, desertions, and mass casualties over more than seven years of conflict have gutted the military. While its current size is unknown, one thing is clear: Assad is now going to great lengths to reconstitute his forces. The problem is that few Syrians want to fight for him.

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WNU Editor:  This has been a problem for Assad's regime since the start of the civil war .... how to keep a cohesive army that can fight the far when many of your soldiers are deserting or fleeing the country. This is also the biggest beef that Russians who have served in Syria are now saying on social media .... "the Syrians do not want to fight for Assad". While on the opposite side .... those who are battling the regime appear to have all the motivation and willingness to sacrifice and fight. For the moment Assad is safe ....Russian forces are there, and the Iranians/Hezbollah are providing the muscle. But this cannot last forever .... and Assad continues to lose troops.

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