Muhsen AlMustafa, a researcher assistant at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, believes that Assad’s recent military decisions primarily aim to withdraw local militia members and integrate them into the army, since dismantling these groups all at once would be difficult in case they are needed in the future. In addition, the regime seeks to recruit new human resources from young men aged 18 to 32. He stressed that the regime is trying to attract them with financial incentives and exemptions from compulsory service, in order to secure their loyalty and push them to renew their contracts later, making the army’s ability to continue fighting dependent on the cohesion of these volunteers and militias.

AlMustafa added that financing these plans relies on two main mechanisms: printing unbacked currency and imposing service substitution fees inside and outside Syria, which has provided the regime with resources to pay salaries despite the economic crisis. He also noted that the restructuring of the army aims to reduce any loyalty to Russia or Iran and concentrate it solely in Bashar al-Assad. He considers that the current Minister of Defense, Ali Mahmoud Abbas, is the officer tasked with implementing this plan, being a technical figure previously prepared for this role.