The Syrian Armed Forces Seven Years into the Conflict: From a Regular Army to Volunteer Corps

..., all the combat-ready units of the SAA were clearly insufficient, both for carrying out offensive operations, and for defending so-called “Useful Syria”. It is unlikely that the SAA numbers more than about 70,000 – 80,000 troops at present. Shabiha and the National Defence Forces The regime has not been able to restore full combat-readiness to the SAA due to the fact that the majority of potential conscripts evade national service. Throughout 2012, the armed forces were able to fortify ...