2 min read

Regime supporters demand end to years-long mandatory military service

NO END IN SIGHT: Pro-opposition news media have begun a […]


12 January 2015

SYrianArmyrelease

NO END IN SIGHT: Pro-opposition news media have begun a social media campaign called ‘It’s my right to be discharged,’ started by soldiers and regime loyalists weary of long military tours stretching up to five years.

It’s my right to be discharged,’ and its sister Facebook page Demand to discharge Group 102 from the Syrian Arab Army were created months ago, but are getting increasing attention in the Syrian opposition media now.

Although loyal to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the pages demand that soldiers serving years in the Syrian army above the mandatory term of one and a half years be allowed to return home.

The pages give a glimpse into the state of a Syrian Arab Army forced to retain soldiers well past their mandatory service, and the growing discontent among regime supporters tired of sons and brothers coming home in coffins.

“By God we implore you, O Chief of the Nation, to hurry up and discharge Group 102 …so they can focus on their futures and their lives; because long service in the name of the flag has destroyed their futures and their studies. Seriously, let them go,” wrote a Syrian named Aymen Taleb on Facebook on January 6.

“Until when [are they going to serve], it’s enough already…feel a little bit [for them]..by God no one is reading [about them], no one remembers that there are young men who are about to have served five years…let’s see an end to it,” wrote another commenter named Duaa Sher.

The graphic above was taken from the ‘Demand to discharge Group 102 from the Syrian Arab Army’ page, and reads ‘I’m coming back…wait for me. And if I don’t return…don’t forget me.’

-January 12, 2015
-Photo courtesy of 
It’s my right to be discharged

For more from Syria Direct, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Share this article!