Assad Expands Compulsory Military Service
Lesson Brief
An Nahar
On August 7, Annahar reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has imposed limits on earlier exemptions to mandatory military service. The law now stipulates that families who have left Syria during the fighting or who live abroad, who previously were completely exempt, now must send home one of their sons if they have between 2 and 4 children. More must return home if the family is larger. Families can pay an exemption fee instead if they have the money. For those families who do not comply, their passports will not be renewed, rendering many of them stateless.