Syrian army 'pardons deserters' to lure refugees back

The Syrian regime announced a general amnesty on Tuesday for army deserters and those who avoided compulsory military service during the country's seven-year civil war, a move seen as encouraging refugees to return, although many remain sceptical about the move.

Tens of thousands of Syrian soldiers have deserted since the start of the war in 2011, some of them joining rebel factions and others either hiding at home or escaping abroad. 

A similar number is estimated to have avoided completing compulsory military service. 

The fear of being sent to the front line has kept many male Syrian refugees from returning.

On Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared "a general amnesty from any penalties for military deserters inside and outside the country", the state-run SANA said.

Those who had been charged with deserting but who were on the run inside the country would have to hand themselves in within four months to Syrian authorities. 

Charged deserters who fled outside Syria would have six months to present themselves to authorities, SANA said. 

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It did not specify whether defectors who then went on to fight the Syrian army were included in the pardon.

While it mentions being exempt from "penalties", Tuesday's decree did not specify if defectors or draft dodgers would ultimately be sent to serve in the military. The Syrian regime has been battling a years-long severe manpower shortage. 

Before the Syrian war erupted in 2011, men aged 18 and older had to serve up to two years in the army, after which they became reserves available for call-up in times of crisis.

In the past seven years, fatalities, injuries and defections are estimated to have halved the once 300,000-strong army.

Reports suggest that some former opponents who surrendered to the regime could have been detained and killed by the government.

To compensate, the force has relied on reservists and militias as well as indefinitely extending military service for young conscripts.

Several similar pardons have been granted in recent years but it is unclear how many Syrians made use of them.

The Syrian conflict began when the Baath regime, in power since 1963 and led by Assad, responded with military force to peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms during the Arab Spring wave of uprisings, triggering an armed rebellion fuelled by mass defections from the Syrian army.

According to independent monitors, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies, and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of Syria.

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