Why I deserted the Syrian army

[TomSea]

Why I deserted the Syrian army

Ghayath Abd Alaziz grew up dreaming of joining the Syrian army, but his experience on the civil war's frontline changed him forever

Since the first months of the Syrian revolution in 2011, desertions from the ranks of the Syrian regime's army have been a daily phenomenon. Tens of thousands of men have deserted - and my destiny was to become one of them.

During my childhood, my favourite toy was a type of plastic soldier. The army was always somewhere inside me, and I grew up dreaming of being in the army and protecting my country from enemies. I never imagined that the day would come when I would discover that this army and all its promises were one giant lie.

In the winter of 2013 in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, I was doing my compulsory military service which at the time involved working in a messaging centre on a computer.

I had started in 2010, months before the start of the revolution. It was supposed to be for a year-and-a-half, but my stint turned into three years because of the war. If I was still in Syria, maybe I would still be serving.

Fighting two enemies

On 1 February 2013, the rebel group Jaysh al-Islam besieged my regiment. It became clear that it would not last for a day or two, but would go on for a very long time.

Soon we realised that the regime army officers were transferring most of the available food from warehouses to their personal rooms, leaving the crumbs for us while the Jaysh fighters prevented any food from coming through.

....

The moment we arrived, two rockets exploded to the right and left of the tank we were in. We were now an exposed target for attackers. As I gave the driver a command to move, the third rocket struck the tank tower, and my cabin was filled with smoke.

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