The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Regime forces recruit more than 600 young men in Damascus and Rif Dimashq, raising the number of conscripts in the newly-controlled areas to more than 19000 in 4 months

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of recruitment by the regime forces for young men from areas in the capital Damascus and Rif Dimashq, and transferring them to the conscription service in their ranks, within the framework of their recruitment process in the areas they controlled after military operations and “reconciliation” agreements, where the Syrian Observatory monitored the recruitment of more than 600 young people from several areas in the capital Damascus and Rif Dimashq during the last 20 days, where intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that more than a quarter of them were taken to al-Driej barracks from the Eastern Ghouta, where reports were sent to those who are due to the conscription service and for some of reserve members in Douma, Mesraba, and al-Marj area, and they were assembled on Saturday morning the 4th of August 2018, and were transported by buses to al-Driej area to attend training courses.

Thus, it rose to about 19000, the number of people recruited since the beginning of April 2018 from the capital Damascus and Rif Dimashq, within the areas which witnessed deals of demographic change through displacing those who refused the agreement which took place between the factions and representatives of the area and between the regime, with full Russian guarantees, in the south of the capital Damascus, and the cities and towns of Eastern Ghouta, the southern Rif Dimashq, Eastern al-Qalamoun, Zabadani, Wadi Barada, Madaya, the west of Rif Dimashq and al-Tal area in Rif Dimashq, and the intersected sources of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that the recruitment process had been ordered by the Russian Forces, while fears rise among officers and groups within the regime forces from the Russian forces’ goal of displacement in gaining the side of the remained population within these areas and get closer to them, to make these forces –who are formed from people of the displaced areas– forces loyal to the Russians.

The continuous recruitment process by the regime forces, about two thirds of which have taken place in the Eastern Ghouta; followed regime forces’ decision to demobilize the Batch 102nd of its forces and carrying out their decision, in addition to regime’s quest for issuing a resolution to dissolve the forces of its allies that belong to it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on 26th of May 2018 that the number of the Batch 102 conscripts in the regime forces, who have been kept, and who will be demobilized, reached about 15000 conscripts, of who are expected to be demobilized from the compulsory military service in the ranks of the regime forces, in early June 2018, and the reliable sources confirmed to the SOHR that tens of thousands of the member of this Batch of who were recruited in the conscription service of the regime forces in 2010, were killed and injured, while thousands others dissent from them, during the Syrian revolution, and most of them joined the ranks of the rebel and Islamic factions in the Syrian Opposition, and the Syrian Observatory published at that time that the 102nd batch of those who were recruited in the conscription service of the regime forces in 2010, where they were supposed to be released from service back in early 2012, but the regime forces deliberately kept them on duty for about 6.5 years of service in addition to their official service time in the army of the regime, using them in the clashes and military operations carried out in the Syrian territory, by which the regime forces managed to regain control of tens of thousands of square kilometers, after previous losing to the opposition and Islamic factions and the “Islamic State” organization.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 1st of June 2018, that it obtained information about an unprecedented decision which the regime will apply in the Syrian territory, and the details obtained by the Observatory from reliable sources: it is expected that regime’s authorities in the coming period will completely resolve the forces loyal to them, which have participated along regime’s army forces as ally forces, the sources added that this direction –of which a decision is being prepared after a Russian request– came during the visit of the Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad to Russia and his meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the Russian request included not only the dissolution of pro-regime militia who are supported by the regime, but also including the resolve of the Iranian-backed militia who are funded by the Iranian side operating on the Syrian soil, this decision have spread a wide resentment among members these pro-regime forces, who participated alongside the regime forces in all the battles that took place on the Syrian territory, objecting this decision of which the regime force seek to issue, where the sources confirmed that it will include either the option of permanently demobilizing members of the allied forces, or formally enrolling them in the ranks of regime’s Army, and this Russian request and the consultations of regime’s authorities regarding issuing the decision in a future period; came after series of violations in the past months and years by the regime forces, and after the increase of frequency of these violations in areas controlled by the regime forces and the militiamen loyal to them, where these loyal forces have carried out looting operations for thousands of houses and robbed tens of thousands of citizens of their personal belongings and money, whether on the checkpoints or in villages, towns and cities from Aleppo city until the Western Ghouta, the Eastern Ghouta, Homs city and countryside, Aleppo countryside, and the countryside of Homs, Hama, south Damascus, Rif Dimashq, south Rif Dimashq, Deir Ezzor, al-Raqqah and other areas in Syria, and what provoked the regime and the Russians even more is the deliberate flee of some of the non-opposition people from regime’s conscription service toward areas controlled by these militias who are loyal to the regime forces, also the resentment increased among regime’s authorities due to this phenomenon which continued in the past years, especially after the killing, defection and injury of tens of thousands of members of the regime forces in the clash against the rebel and Islamic factions, the “Islamic State” organization and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham “Jabhat al-Nusra”, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of about 50000 members of regime’s loyal Syrian fighters, who fight in the clashes and confrontations alongside the regime, in addition to the injury of tens of thousands more and the flee of thousands others.