Baladi - Agencies
Israel’s defence minister said on Tuesday that Syria was building up its ground forces beyond their pre-civil war size, an assessment that suggests Bashar al-Assad’s army has recovered from a critical manpower shortage earlier in the war.
The Syrian military was hit by major defections in the first years of the conflict, which began in 2011, and by 2015 Assad acknowledged that “a shortfall in human capacity” meant the army could not fight everywhere for fear of losing vital ground.
Russia intervened militarily soon afterwards to turn the tide of war and has been helping arm and train the Syrian army. Iran has also backed Assad, sending military advisers and allied Shi’ite militia from across the region to support his troops.
Iran has also backed Assad, sending military advisers and allied Shi’ite militia from across the region to support his troops.
Pro-regime militias in the Syrian conflict have also included local militias raised by the Lebanese Hezbollah with Iranian support, including the Assad National Defense Forces.
Israel closely monitors the military capacity of Syria, an adversary against which it has fought three wars. It captured part of the Golan Heights from the Assad regime in 1967 and has occupied it since.
Source: Reuters.