Daraa youth refuse to join compulsory 'murderous' Syrian regime military service, fear for uncertain future

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Young men in Syria fear being conscripted into the regime's army

Many young men in Syria's southern Daraa province are refusing to join the Assad regime's military forces and now fear for their fate as a conscription deadline approaches.

Young men refusing to enrol in compulsory military service with the Syrian regime feel under threat of arrest as the deadline for the postponement of their conscription expires, The New Arab's Arabic language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.
The regime in April 2021 granted men aged between 18 and 36, who are wanted for military service in the southern Daraa province, a period of one year in which they were free to travel before enrolling in the army.
During this period, thousands of young men left the area.

However many could not afford to and are now refusing to enrol either due to being against what they call the "murderous" regime, or because of the discrimination they would face within the regime military.
"Military service is obligatory, but it is a process of humiliation and oppression," Ziad Bara, a 24-year-old Daraa resident told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
He said that conscripts from areas that were formerly held by the Syrian opposition - including Daraa - "are treated with vengefulness".
Bara explained that those, like him, who "[did not] have a chance to get out of the country... don't know what the coming days may hold for us".

Read more: https://english.alaraby.co.uk

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