Syria rebels offer amnesty for Assad regime military, security personnel if they defect

Armed groups, opposing Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, have most recently taken control of 6 more settlements including Zor al-Mahruka, Zor al-Haysa, Zor Abu Zeid, Zor al-Maselih, Zor Aj-Jadid and Khattab settlements and Nasiriyah Hill in Hama, Syria on December 3, 2024 [Kinene Hindevi – Anadolu Agency]

Syrian rebels have announced an amnesty for members of the Assad regime’s armed forces and security services in Aleppo, calling on them to defect and join opposition ranks.

Since the renewed rebel offensive launched from north-west Syria – led largely by the group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – last week, Syrian opposition groups have expanded their rule over the newly-liberated territories, taking responsibility for their growing populations and reportedly steadily recruiting ever more members into their ranks in the fight against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

Part of that strategy to solidify their rule has seemingly been to offer amnesty to the regime’s military and security personnel in the new territories if they defect and surrender their arms and identity documents to the opposition’s administration, with announcements circulating throughout chats on the WhatsApp and Telegram platforms, as well as other social media sites.

According to one such announcement, HTS-led operations room stated that its “Military Operations Department announces the start of receiving requests from defectors from the Assad regime in the liberated city of Aleppo to receive a temporary card that will lift legal prosecution from them and preserve their rights.”

It insisted that “everyone who worked in the Assad regime’s army, security, police, auxiliary forces, popular committees, and the like must report to the designated police stations and bring with them personal identification, weapons and a full pledge”.

The announcement emphasised that the offer will be valid until Friday, 6 December, 2024.

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