At least 12 residents of eastern Ghouta were arrested by the regime security in night raids, as they track down young men who escaped conscription.
The arrest campaign took place in Kafr Batna, Harasta and neighboring suburbs east of the capital, local activists say.
Most of the young men in the capital’s eastern suburbs have rejected the regime’s conscription call, but the reconciliation deals have imposed a new de-facto. They must join the army or face being arrested by the military intelligence.
In the last few months, the regime army has sent about 5,000 conscription calls to young men from eastern Ghouta, despite some names belonging to people who were killed or displaced.
The fall of eastern Ghouta last April was achieved in a brutal fashion and changed the course of the war.
More than 1,700 civilians were reportedly killed during the eight-week offensive.
Eastern Ghouta was the scene of the first major protests against the rule of Bashar al-Assad in the capital.
Assad urged all Syrians, including the Druze minority, to send its young men to the army.
The regime had previously issued a decree to deprive anyone who evades reserve service from applying for employment in regime sectors.
The Alawites-dominated areas are still the main manpower supply for the Assad’s army.
More than 125,000 pro-regime forces have been killed in seven years of brutal war, according to local monitoring groups.
Since the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011, more than 560,000 people have been killed, and more than six million people have been displaced.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
