By Emma Jamal
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian government has launched an extensive recruiting campaign, arresting hundreds of individuals since early November in its areas of control, including Aleppo, Homs and Hama extending to the northeast areas.
Since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011, thousands of military personnel defected from the government forces and thousands decided not to join the compulsory service, as the government forces were marked with killing civilians, not to mention that new recruiters were thrown on front lines without receiving the needed military training.
On Nov.14, a well-informed source told North Press that the Military Police of the government forces have arrested 850 individuals in Aleppo to serve compulsory military service.
The target of the campaign is to recruit 4,800 individuals, according to the obtained information.
Governorates of Raqqa, Idlib, Suwayda, and large parts of Deir ez-Zor are excluded from the campaign as they are either out of the government control or run by local factions.
Spokesman of the Northern Democratic Brigade, a component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mahmoud Habib, told North Press that the government demobilized a number of its conscripts after 2018 where the crisis subsided, however, it is mobilizing its forces now due to the ongoing circumstances.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, following a surprise attack by Hamas, Iranian-backed militias have stepped up their attacks against US bases in Syria and Iraq.
On Nov.15, the Pentagon said that 55 attacks were carried out on US bases in Syria and Iraq since Oct. 17, injuring 59 US personnel.
What is interesting about the campaign is that the “regime” has resorted to its-held neighborhoods in the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli, northeast Syria, in an attempt “to attract conscripts from areas out of its control,” according to the spokesman.
“Those who are recruited would serve under the government forces. The campaign is different from enrolling in the Iranian-backed militias that operate under the name of the government forces to legitimate presence and actions in the region. This is a blatant intervention of those militias in the military facility,” according to the official.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source familiar with the government forces and the Iranian-backed militias agreed that the new conscripts would serve the government and would not join any other party.
Regarding the campaign’s motives, Habib assured that the campaign is related to Israel-Hamas conflict and the recent attacks against the US troops in Syria, however, the new conscripts will not participate in the conflict because they lack experiment and capabilities, and the US-led Global Coalition troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces (DSF) are subjected to drone and missile attacks that need specialized people.
“Anyway, they will be used in direct and unstudied confrontations that would cause a certain death of a large number of them,” Habib added.
“The potential coming escalation would depend on Iranian intervention via well-trained militias that will be provided with weapons,” according to the spokesman.
For its part, the source familiar with the government forces and the Iranian-backed militias disagreed with Habib, saying that the campaign’s only goal is to “protect government-held areas.”
The source said, “For now, the government does not intend to launch any attacks inside or outside the Syrian territory.” The government mobilizes forces from time to time due to continuous immigration of young people and enrolling large numbers in the Iranian-backed militias, according to the source.
Iran strives to increase the number of its militants to strengthen its influence and enhance its position as a military force in Syria in an attempt to change the region demographically, taking advantage of the grim financial status, religious and tribal matters, and those who evade serving in the compulsory military service.
An officer of the Iranian-backed militias told North Press on condition of anonymity that the Iranian-backed militias do not impose conscription, instead, they use brokers and tribal leaders to “lure members with money and protection from security pursuit.”
The officer informed North Press that most of those who join the Iranian-backed militias mainly hail from the city of Palmyra, Homs countryside and Deir ez-Zor.
He said the recent escalation between the SDF on the one hand and the Iranian-backed militias and the government forces on the other hand has political purposes and aims to destabilize the SDF-held areas.
SDF-held areas, particularly Deir ez-Zor, have recently witnessed security tensions and clashes between the SDF and groups affiliated with the government forces and Iranian-backed militias.