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Source: http://www.mei.edu/content/article/all-president-s-militias-assad-s-militiafication-syria
Assad's Militiafication of Syria
(Middle East Institute) Charles Lister and Dominic Nelson - Syrian President Assad has subcontracted the regime's critical military efforts to loyalist militias, which raises questions about the prospects for the regime's future ability to stabilize the country. By mid-2013, two years after the civil war began, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had lost half of its forces, shrinking from 220,000 to 110,000. Estimates of SAA manpower under direct government control are now 20,000-25,000 active and offensively deployable troops. At the same time, however, militias fighting on behalf of the Assad regime currently number 150,000-200,000 fighters. Since 2012, Iran has co-opted, trained, and funded a large portion of the loyalist militias currently operating on Assad's behalf. Senior U.S. officials believe that 80% of Assad's military manpower is made up of foreign forces.