Zaman Al Wasl readers can download the full name list of 21,000 Syrian army defectors across the war-torn country, a detailed list that reflects the deteriorating condition of regime forces since revolution erupted in March 2011.
The Syrian army, one of the region's largest, has been over stretched by a four-year long insurgency where it is battling on several major fronts Islamist rebels and ultra-hardline jihadist militants who have seized large swathes of territory. Many young men have fled the country or find ways to avoid conscription.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday issued a decree announcing a general amnesty for military deserters who violated the country's compulsory military conscription law, state television.
With no end in sight to the war, the Syrian army's manpower shortages have surfaced in recent months by growing reliance on recruitment in loyalist militias in state-controlled provinces, where those volunteering are offered lucrative pay.
"We must define the important regions that the armed forces hold onto so it doesn't allow the collapse of the rest of the areas," Assad said. "The army is capable ... Everything is available, but there is a shortfall in human capacity," Assad said in speech aired by state media on Sunday.
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