More than 100,000 members of Assad’s forces were killed or wounded during military operations since 2011, in the first official statistics issued by the Assad regime.
During an interview with the Russian RT channel in English, Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad said that stability in Syria was due to the “sacrifices of more than 100,000 Syrian soldiers who were martyred or wounded.”
He added: “We lost many souls, as well as thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands, of civilians or innocent people who were killed by mortars or in executions or who were kidnapped and then later killed or disappeared, and their families are still waiting for them.”
The number noted by Assad for those killed in his forces are the first official statistics since 2011.
The official narrative of the Syrian regime has avoided noting the number of those killed in Assad’s forces during military operations. However, loyalist networks on Facebook and social media have mourned them after ever battle.
The organizational structure of Assad’s forces, according to the regime’s Defense Ministry website, is composed of infantry, navy and air forces.
The infantry is considered the basic type in Assad’s forces and they have been the most prevalent participants in military operations in various parts of Syria that have seen fighting in recent years.
Assad’s ground forces are comprised of 304,000 soldiers as well as 4,640 battle tanks.
Over the last few months, the Assad regime has given great attention to wounded soldiers, granting them privileges.
The latest of these privileges is assigning the soldier a health pension due to military operations or similar cases, or as a result of being targeted by a terrorist gang or hostile elements. They are given a monthly subsidy, in accordance with a decree issued by Assad in August 2019.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
