MILITARY SERVICE
Syrian amnesty for defectors, draft dodgers
The fear of being sent to the front line has kept many male Syrian refugees from returning to their home country
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad issued a general amnesty on Tuesday for army deserters and those who have avoided compulsory military service during the country’s seven-year civil war, state media said. 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 to their home country. On Tuesday, Assad declared "a general amnesty from any penalties for military deserters inside and outside the country", state media Sana said. Those who had been charged with deserting but who were on the run inside the country would have to hand themselves over to Syrian authorities within four months," it said. Charged deserters who fled outside Syria would have six months to present themselves to authorities,...
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