Syria issues pardon for army deserters and draft dodgers

DAMASCUS: Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad issued a general amnesty yesterday for army deserters and those who have avoided compulsory military service during the country’s seven-year civil war, state media said. Tens of thousands of Syrian soldiers have deserted since the start of the war in 2011, some of them joining rebel factions and others either hiding at home or escaping abroad. A similar number is estimated to have avoided completing compulsory military service.

The fear of being sent to the front line has kept many male Syrian refugees from returning to their home country. Yesterday, Assad declared “a general amnesty from any penalties for military deserters inside and outside the country,” SANA said. Those who had been charged with deserting but who were on the run inside the country would have to hand themselves in within four months to Syrian authorities. Charged deserters who fled outside Syria would have six months to present themselves to authorities, SANA said.

It did not specify whether defectors who then went on to fight the Syrian army were included in the pardon. While it mentions being exempt from “penalties”, yesterday’s decree did not specify if defectors or draft dodgers would ultimately be sent to serve. The decree includes “a general amnesty from any penalties for crimes under Law 30 for Military Service”, which governs the country’s conscription. Before Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011, men aged 18 and older had to serve up to two years in the army, after which they became reserves available for call-up in times of crisis. In the past seven years, fatalities, injuries and defections are estimated to have halved the once 300,000strong army. — AFP