Military conscription | Regime forces step up arrests of young recruits

SOHR activists say that regime forces have launched a campaign of arrests in the neighbourhoods of Deir ez-Zor city, arresting a number of young men for military conscription.

Regime forces carried out campaigns of arrests in a number of Syrian provinces over the past month in Aleppo, Hama and rural Damascus, as well as arrests in Daraa countryside, which led to arrests among young men for military conscription.

Meanwhile, parents fear for their sons’ fate and the danger will face during compulsory military service, promoting some parents to smuggle their sons to neighbouring countries.

Soldiers of the regime forces complain that military rations provided to the compulsory and reserve services’ soldiers are insufficient, as they are force to purchase foodstuffs at double prices, which is burdensome for the soldiers’ parents as they pay these additional expenses.

On March 21, the regime’s Ministry of Defense announced the suspension of all military recruitment both the compulsory and reserve, due to health conditions and preventive measures to tackle the coronavirus.