George Ourfalian/Reuters
Soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo last month. The war has forced the Syrian Army to alter its tactics.
By ANNE BARNARD
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian military’s ability to fight rebels and hold territory has steadily eroded, forcing it to cede the job of running many checkpoints to paramilitary groups, give up a provincial city last week without much of a fight and even enlist the top state-appointed Muslim cleric as a recruiter.
Though the government forces remain better armed and organized than the
rebels, two years of fighting have pushed the military to continue to
scale back its ambitions and rethink its tactics.
In recent days, the government has signaled a growing anxiety over its
ability to refresh the depleted and exhausted ranks of soldiers, and has
continued to consolidate its forces around the capital, Damascus.
No comments:
Post a Comment