Assad hopes amnesty will encourage deserters to return to Syria

PRESIDENT Bashar al-assad yesterday made an unprecedented offer of amnesty for military deserters and draft dodgers in the hope of encouraging Syrians to return home.

In a decree issued on official social media feeds, the government said deserters will not receive any punishment but would still have to serve the mandatory two years of service.

But anyone who joined the Free Syrian Army (FSA) or other rebel groups that fought against regime forces is blacklisted and will not be given clemency.

An official from the reconciliation ministry told The Daily Telegraph that those living inside the country had four months to “turn themselves in”, while those outside the country had six months to do so.

He said he expected tens of thousands to accept the amnesty. The fear of punishment for ducking military service or desertion is frequently cited by the six million refugees living abroad as one of the main reasons they do not wish to return to Syria.

Under Syrian military law, deserters can face years of prison if they leave their post and do not report for service within a set amount of time.

Many will be wary of accepting a deal. Some of those who were part of earlier so-called reconciliation agreements were later imprisoned or tortured.

“No one trusts the Assad regime,” said Aghiad al-kheder, from Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, who fled to Germany in 2015. “Many people who went to the government for reconciliation then died inside prison.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says conditions have not yet been fulfilled for mass refugee returns.

Filippo Grandi, the UNHCR chief, said refugees were concerned about conscription, as well as other issues such as the lack of infrastructure.

Russia, a backer of the Assad regime, welcomed the move yesterday.