Defections Continue For Assads Syrian Military

A Defector’s Tale: Assad’s Reluctant Army -- Washington Post

In all of the reports of shelling and clashes in Syria, defections are a surprising reminder that many of Assad’s forces don’t back him.

About 80 percent of Syrian troops are conscripts from the country’s Sunni Muslim minority. Many Sunnis support the rebels, so it’s not uncommon for some Syrian soldiers to feel disdain for their own cause. (Many of the officers, however, are Alawite, the same sect as Assad and his family).

In an interview with a 20-year-old man who defected from the Syrian Army and joined the rebels earlier this week, the Syria Deeply news service reveals the dissonance that many of Assad’s troops have experienced throughout the conflict. The soldier, who asked not to be named, said he and other troops were assigned minders from the shabiha, a loyalist government militia, to ensure they don’t defect. He continued:

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My Comment: While the Syrian civil war is morphing into a sectarian fight, the sad fact is that the mass majority of the Syrian military is made up of Sunni conscripts .... and they are the ones who are doing a bulk of the fighting against their Sunni rebel counterparts. I am sure that many of them are not happy with this situation .... but as long as their fear of deserting is more important to them than fighting their cousins .... the Assad clan will remain in power for a very long time.