Syria plans to demobilize tens of thousands of reservists starting next month, with a target of completing the process by the end of 2025. The decision aims to create a more advanced army with a stronger focus on voluntary enlistment. The demobilization will be done in three phases, reducing reserve service to a maximum of two years in the final phase.
The Syrian conflict, which began in 2011, has killed over half a million people and displaced millions. The Syrian army consists of soldiers who enlist voluntarily, conscripts, and reservists who can be called up for further duty. Over the years, the army leadership extended reservists’ terms and failed to demobilize soldiers whose service had ended.
President Bashar al-Assad has emphasized the importance of volunteer fighters, who have played a crucial role in the conflict. With support from Iran and Russian military intervention in 2015, Assad has regained much of the territory lost in the early years of the war. The evasion of conscription has been a key reason for young men fleeing Syria, making it difficult for them to return.
Experts believe that in the war’s early years, the Syrian military suffered significant losses due to casualties, defections, and draft dodging, with half of its 300,000-strong force affected.
