[11] On 21 December 2024 it was reported that Murhaf Abu Qasra had been appointed the new defence minister for the interim government,[12] while Ali Noureddine Al-Naasan serves as Chief of the General Staff.

After the Allied takeover, the army came under the control of the Free French and was designated the Levantine Forces (Troupes du Levant).

A majority of the Syrian troops were of rural background and minority ethnic origin, mainly Alawis, Druzes, Kurds and Circassians.

While the conspirators of the Military Committee were all young, their aim was not out of reach; the sitting regime had been slowly disintegrating and the traditional elite had lost effective political power over the country.

[17] A small group of military officers, including Hafez al-Assad, seized control in the March 1963 Syrian coup d'etat.

Following the coup, Gen. Amin al-Hafiz discharged many ranking Sunni officers, thereby, Stratfor says, "providing openings for hundreds of Alawites to fill top-tier military positions during the 1963–1965 period on the grounds of being opposed to Arab unity.

At the beginning of the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Syrian Army launched an attack to seize the Golan Heights that was only narrowly repulsed by two vastly outnumbered Israeli brigades.

[24] The Libyan troops were essentially abandoned and had to find their way home (if at all), and the ADF thereby became a purely Syrian force (which did include the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA)).

Eventually, the Syrians brought most of the nation under their control as part of a power struggle with Israel, which had occupied areas of southern Lebanon in 1978.

Following the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, the Syrian occupation of Lebanon continued until they were also forced out by widespread public protest and international pressure.

[28] Syrian forces were accused of involvement in the murder of Rafiq al-Hariri, as well as continued meddling in Lebanese affairs, and an international investigation into the Hariri killing and several subsequent bomb attacks has been launched by the UN.

[29] Syria's force numbered ~20,000 in strength (the sixth-largest contingent) and its involvement was justified domestically as an effort to defend Saudi Arabia.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asserted that the sale wouldn't upset the balance of power in the Middle East and was "in line with .

Israel and the US oppose further arms sales to Syria due to fears that the weapons could fall under the control of Iran or Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

[33] In a late June 2012 interview given by the FSA's Asharq Al-Awsat he claimed Riad al-Asaad said that about 20–30 Syrian officers defected to Turkey each day.

[35] Syrian intelligence chief Hisham Bekhityar and Head of the 4th Army Division Maher Al Assad—brother of President Assad—were also injured in the explosion.

[42] However the Syrian authorities denied these accusations[43] and claimed that irregular armed groups with foreign support[44][45] are behind the atrocities, including Al Qaeda linked Insurgents.

[citation needed] In 2014, Gazeta.ru reported that the regular army had reduced from 325,000 to 150,000 due to "mortality, desertions and deviations", but that this was supplemented by 60,000 Republican Guards and 50,000 Kurdish militias.

[50] In September 2018, Statista Charts estimated that the Syrian military had lost 111 warplanes since the beginning of the civil war, including reconnaissance and attack drones.

He compared it to the fall of Kabul in 2021, where the U.S.-backed Afghan Armed Forces collapsed, and that when faced with certain defeat, armies simply "melt away".

Leaders of the Southern Operations Room met with al-Julani on 11 December and expressed interest in "coordination", a "unified effort" and "cooperation", without stating that they would support the HTS transitional government.

[11] On 26 December 2024, the "former forces of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad" killed 14 HTS fighters in the process of the HTS/new government capturing Mohammad Kanjo Hassan.

General Hassan, the former chief of military justice and head of the field court, had been closely associated with the notorious Sednaya Prison, the site of much torture.

[55] Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir has said the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.

This number included Defense Minister Abu Qasra and new Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces and Army Ali Noureddine Al-Naasan, who were both elevated to the rank of Major-General.

The breakup of the Soviet Union — long the principal source of training, material, and credit for the Syrian forces slowed Syria's ability to acquire modern military equipment.

[76] Syrian Commando and Paratroop uniforms consisted of lizard or woodland-patterned camouflage fatigues along with combat boots, helmets and bulletproof vests.

The Syrian military provided NBC uniforms to soldiers to remain effective in an environment affected by biological or chemical agents.

In 1987, according to a Library of Congress Country Study on Syria, the rank insignia of Syrian commissioned officers were identical for both the army and air force.

Army and Air Force ranks for warrant officers were indicated by gold stars on an olive green shield worn on the upper left arm.