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Syrian Arab Armed Forces

The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; Arabic: القوات المسلحة العربية السورية, romanized: al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024.[citation needed] They served during the rule of Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria.

They consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Defence Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Forces. According to the 2012 Constitution of Syria, the President of Syria was the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.[1] The Minister of Defense held the position of Deputy Commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces.[2]

The SAAF utilized conscription; males served in the military at age 18, but they were exempted from service if they did not have a brother who can take care of their parents. After the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian military enlisted strength dropped by over half from a pre-civil war figure of 325,000 to 150,000 soldiers in the army in December 2014 due to casualties, desertions and draft dodging,[3] reaching between 178,000 and 220,000 soldiers in the army,[4] in addition to 80,000 to 100,000 irregular forces. By 2023, the number of active Syrian soldiers had increased to 170,000,[5] but the number of active paramilitary and reserve forces may have decreased by as much as 50,000.[5][6]

The Syrian Arab Armed Forces collapsed in 2024 with the fall of the Assad regime and flight of Bashar al-Assad.[7] The new de-facto rulers of Syria, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, are making preparations to drastically reorganise Syria's military forces and ambitions.[8] On 21 December 2024 it was reported that Murhaf Abu Qasra had been appointed the new defence minister for the interim government.[9]

History

From Mandate to Independence (1923–1945)

The French Mandate volunteer force, which would later become the Syrian army, was established in 1923 with the threat of Syrian Arab nationalism in mind. Although the unit's officers were originally all French, it was, in effect, the first indigenous modern Syrian army. In 1925, this force was expanded and designated the Special Troops of the Levant (Troupes Spéciales du Levant). In 1941, during World War II, the Army of the Levant participated in a futile resistance to the British and Free French invasion that ousted the Vichy French from Syria during the Syria–Lebanon Campaign.

After the Allied takeover, the army came under the control of the Free French and was designated the Levantine Forces (Troupes du Levant).[10] French Mandate authorities maintained a gendarmerie to police Syria's vast rural areas. This paramilitary force was used to combat criminals and political foes of the Mandate government. As with the Levantine Special Troops, French officers held the top posts, but as Syrian independence approached, the ranks below major were gradually filled by Syrian officers who had graduated from the Homs Military Academy, which had been established by the French during the 1930s. In 1938, the Troupes Spéciales numbered around 10,000 men and 306 officers (of whom 88 were French, mainly in the higher ranks). A majority of the Syrian troops were of rural background and minority ethnic origin, mainly Alawis, Druzes, Kurds and Circassians. By the end of 1945, the army numbered about 5,000 and the gendarmerie some 3,500. In April 1946, the last French officers were forced to leave Syria due to sustained resistance offensives; the Levantine Forces then became the regular armed forces of the newly independent state and grew rapidly to about 12,000 by the time of the 1948 Arab−Israeli War, the first of four Arab−Israeli wars involving Syria between 1948 and 1986.[11]

After the Second World War (1945–1982)

The Syrian Armed Forces fought in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (against Israel) and were involved in a number of military coups. Between 1948 and 1967, a series of coups destroyed the stability of the government and any remaining professionalism within the armed forces.[12] In March 1949, the chief of staff, Gen. Husni al-Za'im, installed himself as president. Two more military dictators followed by December 1949. Gen. Adib Shishakli then held power until deposed in the 1954 Syrian coup d'etat. Further coups followed, each attended by a purge of the officer corps to remove supporters of the losers from the force.[13]

In 1963, the Military Committee of the Syrian Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party spent most of its time planning to take power through a conventional military coup. From the very beginning, the Military Committee knew it had to capture al-Kiswah and Qatana—two military camps—seize control of the 70th Armored Brigade at al-Kiswah, the Military Academy in the city of Homs and the Damascus radio station. While the conspirators of the Military Committee were all young, their aim was not out of reach; the sitting regime had been slowly disintegrating and the traditional elite had lost effective political power over the country.[14] A small group of military officers, including Hafez al-Assad, seized control in the March 1963 Syrian coup d'etat. Following the coup, Gen. Amin al-Hafiz discharged many ranking Sunni officers, thereby, Stratfor says, "providing openings for hundreds of Alawites to fill top-tier military positions during the 1963–1965 period on the grounds of being opposed to Arab unity. This measure tipped the balance in favor of Alawite officers who staged a coup in 1966 and, for the first time, placed Damascus in the hands of the Alawites."[15]

The Armed Forces were involved in the 1967 Six-Day War (against Israel). Since 1967, most of the Golan Heights territory of southwestern Syria has been under Israeli occupation. They then fought in the late 1960s War of Attrition (against Israel) and the 1970 Black September invasion of Jordan.

When Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1971, the army began to modernize and change. In the first 10 years of Assad's rule, the army increased by 162%, and by 264% by 2000. At one point, 70% of the country's GDP went only to the army. At the beginning of the Yom Kippur War of 1973 the Syrian Army launched an attack to seize the Golan Heights that was only narrowly repulsed by two vastly outnumbered Israeli brigades. Since 1973 the cease-fire line has been respected by both sides, with very few incidents until the Syrian civil war.[16][17]

Syria was invited into Lebanon by that country's president in 1976, to intervene on the side of the Lebanese government against PLO guerilla and Lebanese Christian forces. The Arab Deterrent Force originally consisted of a Syrian core, up to 25,000 troops, with participation by some other Arab League states totaling only around 5,000 troops.[18][19][20] In late 1978, after the Arab League had extended the mandate of the Arab Deterrent Force, the Sudanese, the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates announced intentions to withdraw troops from Lebanon, extending their stay into the early months of 1979 at the Lebanese government's request.[21] The Libyan troops were essentially abandoned and had to find their own way home (if at all), and the ADF thereby became a purely Syrian force (which did include the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA)).[22]

A year after Israel invaded and occupied Southern Lebanon during the 1982 Lebanon War, the Lebanese government failed to extend the ADF's mandate, thereby effectively ending its existence, although not the Syrian or Israeli military presence in Lebanon.[23] Eventually the Syrian presence became known as the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

Occupation of Lebanon (1982–2005)

Main article: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

Syrian forces, still technically known as the Arab Deterrent Force, lingered in Lebanon throughout the Lebanese civil war (1975–90). Eventually the Syrians brought most of the nation under their control as part of a power struggle with Israel, which had occupied areas of southern Lebanon in 1978. In 1985, Israel began to withdraw from Lebanon, as a result of domestic opposition in Israel and international pressure.[24] In the aftermath of this withdrawal, the War of the Camps broke out, with Syria fighting their former Palestinian allies. Following the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, the Syrian occupation of Lebanon continued until they themselves were also forced out by widespread public protest and international pressure. About 20,000 Syrian soldiers were deployed in Lebanon until 27 April 2005, when the last of Syria's troops left the country.[25] Syrian forces were accused of involvement in the murder of Rafiq al-Hariri, as well as continued meddling in Lebanese affairs, and an international investigation into the Hariri killing and several subsequent bomb attacks has been launched by the UN.

Other engagements

Engagements since 1979 included the Muslim Brotherhood insurgency (1979–82), notably including the Hama massacre, the 1982 Lebanon War (against Israel) and the dispatch of the 9th Armored Division to Saudi Arabia in 1990–91, ahead of the Gulf War against Iraq. The 9th Armored Division served as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action.[26] Syria's force numbered ~20,000 in strength (the sixth-largest contingent) and its involvement was justified domestically as an effort to defend Saudi Arabia. Syria's initial involvement in Operation Desert Shield also rolled into the Allied Operation Desert Storm, as Syrian forces did participate in helping dislodge and drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait City. Total losses sustained were two dead and one wounded. There were indications the Syrian government had been prepared to double its force to 40,000.[27]

Modernisation

Further information: Russia–Syria relations § Arms contracts

In recent years Syria has relied on Russian arms purchases to obtain modern weapons. Purchases included anti-tank and air defense systems. In early September 2008 the Syrian government ordered MiG-29SMT fighters,[28] Pantsir S1E air-defence systems, Iskander tactical missile systems, Yak-130 aircraft, and two Amur-1650 submarines from Russia. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asserted that the sale wouldn't upset the balance of power in the Middle East and were "in line with . . . international law."

Russia aimed to turn the Russian naval base in Tartus into a permanent base. Israel and the US oppose further arms sales to Syria due to fears that the weapons could fall under the control of Iran or Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.[29]

Syrian civil war 2011–2024

A Syrian soldier manning a checkpoint near Damascus.

Because of the violence against the people by the Syrian Army and the detention of a great number of people, some soldiers from different religions and sects (Sunni, Shia, Druze and Christian) defected in protest at orders to kill protesters in April 2011[citation needed]. By 2014, the number of defecting officers had reached approximately 170,000, from different ranks. They formed the Free Syrian Army on 29 July 2011 (interview with Riad Al-Asaad - the founder and leader of the Free Syrian Army), and at the beginning of the conflict they depended on light weapons. The arming of the Free Syrian Army began in mid-2012.

In March 2012 the Syrian government issued new travel restrictions for military-aged males. Under the new restrictions, reported by local Syrian news outlets, all males between 18–42 were banned from traveling outside the country.[30] In a late June 2012 interview given by the FSA's Asharq Al-Awsat he claimed Riad al-Asaad said that about 20–30 Syrian officers defected to Turkey each day.[31]

On 18 July 2012 the Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, former defense minister Hasan Turkmani and the president's brother-in-law Gen. Assef Shawkat were killed in a bomb attack in Damascus.[32] Syrian intelligence chief Hisham Bekhityar and Head of the 4th Army Division Maher Al Assad—brother of President Assad—were also injured in the explosion.[33]

Since the start of the conflict in Syria, human rights groups say that the majority of abuses were committed by the Syrian government's forces, and UN investigations concluded that the government's abuses were the greatest in both gravity and scale.[34][35] The branches of the Syrian Armed Forces that committed war crimes include at least the Syrian Arab Army,[36][37] Syrian Arab Air Force[38] and the Syrian Military Intelligence.[39] However the Syrian authorities denied these accusations[40] and claimed that irregular armed groups with foreign support[41][42] are behind the atrocities, including Al Qaeda linked Insurgents.[43]

The numbers in the Syrian armed forces had reduced considerably during the Civil War, although estimates varied.

Syrian Armed Forces size during the Civil War[44]
Year Army personnel Air Force personnel Total: Army + Air Force
2011
220,000
100,000
320,000
2014
110,000
63,000
173,000

Russian sources gave higher estimates. In 2011, 300,000 reserves were reported in addition to regular forces.[citation needed] In 2014, Gazeta.ru reported that the regular army had reduced from 325,000 to 150,000 due to "mortality, desertions and deviations", but that this was supplemented by 60,000 Republican Guards and 50,000 Kurdish militias.[45] In 2015, LifeNews still reported the same figures.[46]

Despite shrinking by nearly half from the 2011 beginning of the civil war by 2014, the Armed Forces became much more flexible and capable, especially in anti-guerilla warfare.[47] Their modus operandi switched from traditional Soviet-modeled conventional military forces into a force of smaller groups fighting in close-quarters guerrilla combat with an increasing role for junior officers.[47]

In September 2018, Statista Charts estimated that the Syrian military had lost 111 warplanes since the beginning of the civil war, including reconnaissance and attack drones. The Syrians lost most of their warplanes during the first four years of the war, with losses significantly decreasing after the Russian intervention into the war.[48]

Fall of the al-Assad regime

In December 2024, the Syrian Arab Army, alongside the Syrian Arab Republic itself, collapsed as the Assad regime fell. Some of the remaining SAA forces crossed into Iraq, others removed their uniforms before the rebels could arrive in Damascus, the last remaining territory controlled by the SAR.[7] Retired U.S. General Wesley Clark said that a video showing the SAA forces evacuating to Iraq showed the "demoralization and collapse of an army", and that the forces knew they would lose, with the rebels taking Damascus and Assad's whereabouts unknown. He compared it to the fall of Kabul in 2021, where the U.S.-backed Afghan Armed Forces collapsed, and that when faced with certain defeat, armies simply "melt away".[49]

On 22 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa said that the new Syrian government would announce the new structure of the Syrian military within days.[50] On 24 December 2024, it was announced that the leaders of the different Syrian rebel forces would disband their forces and merge them under the defence ministry.[8]

Paramilitary forces

See also: List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War § Syrian government and allies

References

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  2. ^ "عنوان السيرة الذاتية للعماد علي عبد الله أيوب نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء- وزير الدفاع" (in Arabic). pministry.gov.sy. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  3. ^ "Syria increasing efforts to build up military after substantial losses". South China Morning Post. 29 December 2014. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  4. ^ Daily Star 23 September 2014
  5. ^ a b James Hackett, International Institute for Strategic Studies, ed. (2023). The Military Balance 2023. London. ISBN 978-1-003-40022-6. OCLC 1372013483.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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