EASO Syria Military service Country of Origin Information Report April 2021 More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu) PDF ISBN: 978-92-9465-046-7 doi: 10.2847/461371 BZ--08-21-055-EN-N © European Asylum Support Office, 2021 Cover photo: © Goran Safarek via iStock by Getty Images, 1278365191, 11 October 2020, url. Syrian army soldier with an assault rifle. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EASO copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. Country of origin information report | Syria: Military service Acknowledgements This report was drafted by the European Asylum Support Office COI Sector. The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report: Belgium, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS), Centre for Documentation and Research (Cedoca) Denmark, Danish Immigration Service (DIS) The Netherlands, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis, Ministry of Justice (OCILA) It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments, experts or organisations contributes to the overall quality of the report, but does not necessarily imply their formal endorsement of the final report, which is the full responsibility of EASO. 3 Country of origin information report | Syria: Military service Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 3 Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Disclaimer................................................................................................................................................ 6 Glossary and abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Quality control .................................................................................................................................... 9 Sources ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Structure and use of the report ........................................................................................................ 10 Map ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 1. Background ....................................................................................................................................... 12 2. Military service and official conscription .......................................................................................... 13 2.1 Military and reserve service ....................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Conscientious objectors ............................................................................................................. 14 2.3 Recruitment practices of conscripts and reservists to the SAA during the reporting period .... 15 2.3.1 Recruitment in SAA-affiliated forces ................................................................................... 16 2.3.2 Conscription of Druze .......................................................................................................... 17 2.3.3 Prevalence of SAA conscription in SDF-controlled areas .................................................... 18 2.3.4 Prevalence of recruitment of males under 18 and over 42 years ....................................... 19 2.4 Methods of recruiting of conscripts and reservists to the SAA .................................................. 20 2.5 Deployment of conscripts and reservists to the front ................................................................ 23 2.5.1 Deployment of conscripts ................................................................................................... 23 2.5.2 Deployment of reservists .................................................................................................... 25 2.6 Discharge of conscripts and reservists serving in the SAA ......................................................... 26 3. Deferrals and exemptions from military service ............................................................................... 28 3.1 Only sons .................................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 Medical exemptions ................................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Students ...................................................................................................................................... 29 3.4 Exemption fee ............................................................................................................................. 30 3.4.1 Exemption fee for males residing in Syria ........................................................................... 32 4 Country of origin information report | Syria: Military service 4. Consequences of draft evasion, military desertion and defection ................................................... 33 4.1 Draft evaders .............................................................................................................................. 33 4.1.1 Amendment to Article 97 of the Military Service Law ........................................................ 34 4.1.2 Potential consequences for family members ...................................................................... 34 4.2 Military deserters and defectors ................................................................................................ 35 4.2.1 Potential consequences for family members ...................................................................... 38 4.3 Amnesties regarding draft evaders and military deserters and their implementation in practice .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Annex I: Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 41 Annex II: Terms of Reference ................................................................................................................ 53 5 Country of origin information report | Syria: Military service Disclaimer This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019).1 The report is based on carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced. The information contained in this report has been researched, evaluated and analysed with utmost care. However, this document does not claim to be exhaustive. If a particular event, person or organisation is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken place or that the person or organisation does not exist. Furthermore, this report is not conclusive as to the determination or merit of any particular application for international protection. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of a particular legal position. ‘Refugee’, ‘risk’ and similar terminology are used as generic terminology and not in the legal sense as applied in the EU Asylum Acquis, the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. Neither EASO nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained in this report. The drafting of this report was finalised on 22 March 2021. Any event taking place after this date is not included in this report. More information on the reference period for this report can be found in the methodology section of the Introduction. 1 The 2019 EASO COI Report Methodology can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/2019_EASO_COI_Report_Methodology.pdf 6 Country of origin information report | Syria: Military service Glossary and abbreviations Abbrev. Explanation COAR Center for Operational Analysis and Research CoI Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic DIS Danish Immigration Service FIS Finnish Immigration Service GoS Government of Syria ISIL Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State (IS), or Daesh NDF National Defence Forces OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights SAA Syrian Arab Army SDF Syrian Democratic Forces SNHR Syrian Network for Human Rights SOHR Syrian Observatory of Human Rights SACD Syrian Association for Citizens Dignity 7 Country of origin information report | Syria: Military service Military service Military service2 is used broadly to cover both military service and reserve service in the SAA. Conscientious objection Conscientious objection to military service is