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Syrian Opposition Leader: Assad Still Has 70,000 Loyal Troops
(Ha'aretz) Anshel Pfeffer- A former senior officer in the Syrian Army, now an opposition leader, told Ha'aretz that around a third of the Syrian armed forces have defected so far. "There are two kinds of defectors," he says, "the majority, around 60,000, have simply run away, back to their homes, while some 30,000 have actively joined the opposition, mostly the Free Syrian Army, and are fighting." Yet the government still has a number of loyal units, numbering around 70,000 soldiers. The Fourth Armored Division, commanded by President Assad's younger brother, Maher, is equipped with advanced Russian tanks and attack helicopters and numbers around 25,000 men. About 80% are Alawites and nearly 90% are career soldiers, in contrast to the conscripts who comprise most of the army's other units. Other loyal formations are the ten Special Forces "commando" regiments, with around 1,500 men each, and the Republican Guard division, as well as forces operating under the four intelligence services and the irregular Shabiha militia, which have carried out many of the murders of civilians. "Out of about 6,000 soldiers and officers who have been reported killed since the uprising began, at least half were shot by regime loyalists."