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Manpower Problems Deepen in Syria's Army
(Washington Post) Louisa Loveluck - As Syria's war grinds on, President Assad's army is increasingly reliant on conscripts and even prisoners. "We know the Syrian Arab Army is facing a serious manpower shortage due to defections, desertions, draft evasion and casualties," said Faysal Itani, a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East in Washington. Before the war, military service would last for two years. Now, many conscripts say they have served much longer, with no sign of discharge on the horizon. Many have been able to defer military service with a payment of $300. The Damascus war effort has been bolstered by two powerful militia forces - the Tiger Forces and the Desert Hawks - that pay higher salaries and allow recruits to reap the spoils of war, taking bribes at checkpoints and looting newly retaken areas.