Editing Syrian Armed Forces (section)

=== Syrian civil war (2011–2024) ===
[[File:VOA Arrott - A View of Syria, Under Government Crackdown 08.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian soldiers shot for refusing to fire on protesters |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2011-04-12 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/12/syrian-soldiers-shot-protest}}</ref> 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 [[Media of Syria|local Syrian news outlets]], all males between 18 and 42 were banned from traveling outside the country.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0327/As-Syria-s-war-rages-Assad-bans-military-age-men-from-leaving|title=As Syria's war rages, Assad bans military-age men from leaving|author=David Enders|newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=27 March 2012|access-date=24 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622031012/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0327/As-Syria-s-war-rages-Assad-bans-military-age-men-from-leaving|archive-date=22 June 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/380/846.html?hp=1&cat=669&loc=49|script-title=he:סוריה: התקפה עזה על המשמר הרפובליקני|publisher=[[Nrg Maariv|Maariv]]|date=26 June 2012|access-date=26 June 2012|location=Tel Aviv|language=he|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728154747/http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/380/846.html?hp=1&cat=669&loc=49|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[July 2012 Damascus bombing|bomb attack]] in Damascus.<ref name=telegraph9408321>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9408321/Assads-brother-in-law-and-top-Syrian-officials-killed-in-Damascus-suicide-bomb.html|title=Assad's brother-in-law and top Syrian officials killed in Damascus suicide bomb|author=Damien McElroy|date=18 July 2012|access-date=18 July 2012|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719162441/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9408321/Assads-brother-in-law-and-top-Syrian-officials-killed-in-Damascus-suicide-bomb.html|archive-date=19 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-bombing-claim-idUKBRE86H0FO20120718|title=Two Syrian rebel groups claim Damascus attack|date=18 July 2012|access-date=18 July 2012|work=[[Reuters]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719000456/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/18/uk-syria-crisis-bombing-claim-idUKBRE86H0FO20120718|archive-date=19 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-un-rights-idUSL6E8JFA3220120815 |title=UPDATE 4-Syrian govt forces, rebels committing war crimes -U.N. |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=17 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020163150/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/syria-crisis-un-rights-idUSL6E8JFA3220120815 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/friends-syria-must-use-their-influence-stop-cycle-repression-and-violence-2012-07-05 |title=Friends of Syria must use their influence to stop cycle of repression and violence |date=5 July 2012 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206063406/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/friends-syria-must-use-their-influence-stop-cycle-repression-and-violence-2012-07-05 |archive-date=6 December 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The branches of the Syrian Armed Forces that committed war crimes include at least the Syrian Arab Army,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/31/opinion/ghitis-syria-killing-children |title=Why the Syrian regime is killing babies |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=3 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822043336/http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/31/opinion/ghitis-syria-killing-children |archive-date=22 August 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian siege of Homs is genocidal, say trapped residents|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/07/syrian-homs-siege-genocidal-say-residents|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=7 February 2012|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225225140/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/07/syrian-homs-siege-genocidal-say-residents|archive-date=25 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Syrian Arab Air Force<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/23/syria-despite-denials-more-cluster-bomb-attacks "Syria: Despite Denials, More Cluster Bomb Attacks"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218123504/https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/23/syria-despite-denials-more-cluster-bomb-attacks |date=18 December 2016 }}. HRW.org. 23 October 2012.</ref> and the Syrian Military Intelligence.<ref name="HRW arch">{{Cite journal |title= Torture Archipelago: Arbitrary Arrests, Torture and Enforced Disappearances in Syria's Underground Prisons since March 2011 |url= https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria0712webwcover.pdf |publisher= Human Rights Watch |date= July 2012 |access-date= 3 July 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120725100639/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria0712webwcover.pdf |archive-date= 25 July 2012 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref> However the Syrian authorities denied these accusations<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/07/world/meast/syria-unrest/|title=Al-Assad denies responsibility for Syria crackdown|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=7 December 2011|access-date=23 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224102235/http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/07/world/meast/syria-unrest/|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and claimed that irregular armed groups with foreign support<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120801 |title= Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels |work= [[Reuters]] |date= 1 August 2012 |access-date= 2 July 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120802002457/https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120801 |archive-date= 2 August 2012 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/22/saudi-arabia-syria-rebel-army |title= Saudi Arabia plans to fund Syria rebel army |newspaper= [[The Guardian]] |date= 22 June 2012 |access-date= 16 December 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161218142454/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/22/saudi-arabia-syria-rebel-army |archive-date= 18 December 2016 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref> are behind the atrocities, including Al Qaeda linked Insurgents.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/19/al-qaida-linked-group-accused-torture-syria-amnesty |title= Al-Qaida-linked group accused of torture in areas of Syria it controls |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date= 18 May 2012 |access-date= 16 December 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160722203723/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/19/al-qaida-linked-group-accused-torture-syria-amnesty |archive-date= 22 July 2016 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

The numbers in the Syrian armed forces had reduced considerably during the Civil War, although estimates varied.
{{Bar chart
| title       = Syrian Armed Forces size during the Civil War<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Sep-19/271153-assads-army-stretched-but-still-seen-strong.ashx#axzz3E5YPzKAf|last=Sylvia|first=Westall|title=Assad's army stretched but still seen strong|newspaper=The Daily Star|access-date=23 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922220210/http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Sep-19/271153-assads-army-stretched-but-still-seen-strong.ashx#axzz3E5YPzKAf|archive-date=22 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
| bar_width   = 20
| width_units = em
| label_type  = Year
| label1  = 2011
| label2  = 2014
| data_type = Army personnel
| data_max  = 220,000
| data1 = 220,000
| data2  = 110,000
| col2_data_type = Air Force personnel
| col2_data_max  = 100,000
| col2_data1  = 100,000
| col2_data2  = 63,000
| col3_data_type = Total: Army + Air Force
| col3_data_max  = 330,000
| col3_data1  = 320,000
| col3_data2  = 173,000
}}
Russian sources gave higher estimates. In 2011, 300,000 reserves were reported in addition to regular forces.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2015/09/30_a_7788269.shtml|title=Сколько людей и оружия по обе линии сирийского противостояния|work=Газета.Ru|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731174449/http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2015/09/30_a_7788269.shtml|archive-date=31 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, [[Life (news agency, Russia)|LifeNews]] still reported the same figures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lifenews.ru/news/162802|title=LifeNews изучил состояние сирийской армии на момент введения ВКС РФ|date=1 October 2015|work=Life.ru|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127191935/http://lifenews.ru/news/162802|archive-date=27 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Adapts">{{cite news|url=http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Oct-22/274895-syria-army-adapts-to-guerrilla-war.ashx|title=Syria army adapts to guerrilla war|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=22 October 2014|access-date=22 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022063346/http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Oct-22/274895-syria-army-adapts-to-guerrilla-war.ashx|archive-date=22 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Adapts"/>

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 military intervention in the Syrian Civil War|Russian intervention]] into the war.<ref name="Statista Infographics 2018">{{cite web | title=Infographic: Aircraft Lost During The Syrian Civil War | website=Statista Infographics | date=18 September 2018 | url=https://www.statista.com/chart/15492/estimated-number-of-aircraft-shot-down-or-destroyed-in-accidents-in-syria/ | access-date=27 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105202612/https://www.statista.com/chart/15492/estimated-number-of-aircraft-shot-down-or-destroyed-in-accidents-in-syria/ | archive-date=5 November 2018 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> After the civil war Bashar Al-Assad made little efforts to rehabilitate the military from the losses sustained during the civil war. This was most likely not due to a lack of resources, but instead it was an active choice of the regime. This left the military weakened and suspectable to attacks, such as from [[Israel Syria relations|Israel]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haddad |first=Bassam |date=2024-12-18 |title=The Runaway Dictator and prospects for resistance to foreign aggression |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/the-runaway-dictator-and-prospects-for-resistance-to-foreign-aggression/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}}</ref>