By Muaz al-Muhammad
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Amilitary expert questioned the motives behind a recent recruitment plan issued by the Syrian Ministry of Defense. He suggests that it is a maneuver to drag young Syrian men into frontlines in Ukraine.
Two weeks ago, the Ministry announced its intention to encourage young men to serve by offering contracts of five or 10 years, renewable once, contingent upon the approval of the General Command.
The decision stipulates that volunteers must be under 32 years old. According to the Ministry, individuals who sign a five-year contract will receive a service bonus equivalent to four months’ salaries, while those opting for a ten-year contract will receive a bonus equivalent to eight months’ salaries.
Recruits not only receive a monthly salary but also a sum equal to their monthly wage as compensation for field service. Additionally, they receive twice their salary as compensation for residence and military responsibilities, along with 150,000 SYP for transportation expenses and an additional 100,000 SYP for each combat mission.
Each recruit within the five-year contract category receives an annual bonus equivalent to two months’ salary at the end of each year. Meanwhile, those under the 10-year contract category receive a bonus equivalent to four months’ salaries.
The Ministry provides the recruited young men with a grant of two million SYP under the marriage grant.
The total income, comprising the fixed salary and the compensations, amounts to 1.3 million SYP ($88), according to the Ministry.
Recruits’ salaries and compensations are subject to all relevant pay raises applicable to military personnel. Upon completing their service, they are entitled to additional compensations as specified in the Military Pensions Law.
The Ministry exempts recruits from the compulsory military service if they have fulfilled their contracts’ obligations.
In late December 2023, the Ministry announced in a video that it provides several types of service contracts with varying durations, financial, and bonuses.
At the end of 2023, the Syrian government issued a series of laws related to its military institution. These laws aim to form an “advanced army,” said Director-General of the General Directorate at the Defense Ministry, Ahmad Suleiman. That decision was made by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “The plan works silently and secretly,” Suleiman said in an interview on state-run Syria TV.
Abdullah al-Asaad, a former officer and military expert, believed that the salary increases and privileges are merely incentives to bait young men.
“However, the issue of conscription is related to the Russians, especially since the Russian forces have a large number of recruits who may join the Syrian forces,” al-Asaad stated.
At the same time, he claimed that the purpose of the process is dragging recruits into the battlefronts in Ukraine.
Some of these young men have been assigned to serve in the government’s 25th Special Mission Forces Division (Tiger Forces), led by Suheil al-Hassan and supported by Russia. They were trained by Iranian officers under the pretext that they were training for the Division’s benefit, al-Asaad added.
“Later, those soldiers found out that they have been enlisted to go to Russia and then participate in the war in Ukraine,” al-Asaad told North Press.
On Feb. 7, the Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published lists of names of dozens of Syrians recruited by Russia to fight within its ranks in Ukraine.
The Directorate claimed that Russian forces train Syrians at the Kuweires airbase in eastern Aleppo, northwestern Syria, to later be transferred to Ukraine.
The recruitment plan is aimed at addressing the shortage of soldiers resulting from the discharge of a significant number of reserve forces, said reports.
In addition, there is a Syrian-Russian trend to undermine the influence of Iranian militias through the plan. They seek to prevent Syria-based Iran-backed militias from recruiting more youth.