Syria sees shortage of troops

Assad vows win, admits hardships

Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech Sunday in Damascus. Assad said he supports any political dialogue to end his country’s civil war even if its effects are limited.
Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech Sunday in Damascus. Assad said he supports any political dialogue to end his country’s civil war even if its effects are limited.

BEIRUT -- In his first public address in a year, Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed Sunday to win his country's long-running civil war while acknowledging that his troops had lost territory to rebel forces and were running short on manpower.

Assad also acknowledged that many Syrians could not watch the televised address because of the lack of electricity in many areas and noted the economic hardships that people are facing because of the war.

Assad's speech, while confident, came in the fifth year of a conflict pitting his forces against rebels, Islamist insurgents and the extremist Islamic State group. Turkey, which has long backed the rebels, has begun striking the Islamic State and Kurdish fighters battling the extremists, adding a new layer of complexity to a war with no end in sight.

The conflict in Syria began with peaceful protests against Assad and turned into a civil war after a crackdown on demonstrators. But it has since become a three-way war, at least, involving the government, insurgents and the Islamic State, which splintered off from a radical Islamist wing of the insurgency that gained strength as foreign fighters streamed into the country.

Assad's government is backed by Iran, Hezbollah and thousands of foreign Shiite fighters playing an increasing role on the ground. Battling it are a range of insurgent groups -- some backed by the U.S. and others backed by U.S. allies Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as private donors -- and the Islamic State.

Assad's speech Sunday morning, given to local dignitaries in the Syrian capital, Damascus, was his first public address since he was sworn in for a third, seven-year term in July last year. Assad has given interviews to several Arab and international media outlets in the meantime.

Assad acknowledged that his generals have had to move forces from one front to another in order to protect areas that are militarily, politically or economically more important. He added that the loss of some areas to insurgents has led to "frustration" among Syrians.

It was his most substantive public nod yet to the magnitude of the challenges to his government and of the struggles confronting ordinary Syrians. In previous public speeches and interviews, he has glossed over setbacks and denied that the government is dropping barrel bombs in the northern city of Aleppo, a well-documented and regular occurrence.

Syrian forces have suffered several setbacks since March, including the loss of the northwestern city of Idlib, the capital of a province that borders Turkey, to rebels. In May, the government lost the historic central town of Palmyra to Islamic State extremists, who also captured parts of the northeastern city of Hassakeh.

The remarks came within an address that, overall, retained Assad's usual confident, defiant tone -- promising victory, praising the army, blaming foreign meddling for the war.

"We are not collapsing. We are steadfast and will achieve victory," said Assad, who was interrupted several times by applause. "Defeat does not exist in the dictionary of the Syrian Arab army."

Assad tried to justify the loss of some areas, including Idlib. Assad-allied forces, including fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iranian advisers, control a little less than half of Syria's 71,400 square miles.

"It was necessary to specify critical areas for our armed forces to hang on to," Assad said. "Concern for our soldiers forces us to let go of some areas."

"When we concentrate our forces in an important area, what happens is that we bring reinforcements but this is usually at the expense of other areas," Assad said. "Sometimes we have to abandon some areas in order to transfer these forces to the area that we want to hold."

"There is a shortage of manpower," Assad said, adding that "I don't want to give a dark image that hostile media will use to say that the president is saying that people are not joining the army."

Assad said that in recent months, mostly in April and May, the number of people joining the army has increased. He added: "Every inch of Syria is precious."

There has been an intensifying campaign of army recruitment advertising in government-held areas, as even loyalist families grow more reluctant to send sons to the army rather than keep them home to defend their areas.

Hours after Assad spoke, activists and Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV said government forces were advancing on Palmyra and had captured several mountains overlooking the town, known for its United Nations world heritage site marked by 2,000-year-old Roman colonnades.

"Regime forces are on the outskirts of the city of Palmyra," said activist Bebars al-Talawy, who is based in the central province of Homs that includes the historic town. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said troops and pro-government fighters are getting close to the town.

Al-Manar reported that troops captured several mountains southwest of Palmyra, adding that Islamic State fighters are fleeing the area. It aired footage said to be taken in the desert outside the town with troops moving forward.

Since the Islamic State captured Palmyra, many feared that the group would damage the archaeological site, as the extremists did in Iraq earlier this year. Regaining control of it would be a major victory for Assad.

Hezbollah and Syrian troops are also struggling to subdue the insurgent-held city of Zabadani. Their assault, which had been billed as quick and easy, has gone on for weeks, with many casualties on both sides and the opposition accusing the government of dropping hundreds of barrel bombs indiscriminately.

Assad's government announced a general amnesty for army deserters and draft dodgers Saturday, provided they have not joined the insurgency against him. There are thousands of army deserters in and outside Syria, many of whom have gone on to fight with rebels. Many young men have fled the country to avoid compulsory military conscription.

Assad has issued similar amnesties for criminals, but has not released any of the thousands of political prisoners believed to be in Syria's prisons.

The Observatory recently reported that at least 49,100 troops and 32,500 pro-government gunmen have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.

The group, which gathers information from a network of activists inside Syria, says there are some 70,000 draft dodgers in government-controlled areas alone.

Last month, Syria's prime minister called on young men to fulfill their mandatory military service obligation, promising better pay for troops on the front lines as well as one hot meal a day.

Assad said his government did not want war, "but when it was imposed on us, the Syrian Arab army repelled the terrorists everywhere." Assad refers to all those fighting against his rule as terrorists.

The U.S. has begun training some moderate rebels who oppose Assad, but Islamic extremist groups have had the most success against his forces. The Islamic State group holds about a third of Syria and neighboring Iraq in its self-declared "caliphate."

Speaking about political dialogue, Assad said any initiative that is not based on fighting "terrorism" will be "hollow" and "meaningless."

He also declared that the West practiced a "double standard," condemning terrorism at home but calling it "democracy and freedom" in Syria.

Information for this article was contributed by Bassem Mroue of The Associated Press and by Maher Samaan, Anne Barnard and staff members of The New York Times.

A Section on 07/27/2015

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