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

A large number of structures scattered and not fully controlled by Damascus lays a time bomb under Syria RIAC Working Paper “Proposals on Building a Regional Security System in West Asia and North Africa” The most serious ... ... 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 ...