Integration of armed factions remains one of Syria's biggest challenges

"Throughout the nearly 14 years of war, armed factions proliferated: from the broad spectrum of armed opposition factions in the northwest and the regime's array of military and militia forces in central and western Syria, to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and a complex network of militias throughout the south, and not to forget the likes of ISIS and al-Qaeda."

"As a first step in December 2024, the al-Assad regime's armed forces were swiftly dissolved and a process of status settlement was initiated, whereby all previous soldiers both officers and conscripts could register using their national ID and apply for release to civilian life or to re-enlist in the new army. Thousands of men chose to undertake this settlement process across the country, to clear their names and start life anew."

"But thousands of others abstained, especially in the coastal region, where the Alawite minority dominates. While many of those who avoided the process melted back into rural communities, hundreds ended up forming anti-government factions that conducted low-level attacks on government forces, culminating in a huge coordinated campaign on March 6 that killed more than 100 government personnel triggering a chaotic"

After the civil conflict ended in December 2024 with the fall of Bashar al‑Assad's regime, hundreds of thousands of citizens remained armed. Armed factions proliferated across the country, including opposition groups, the Syrian Democratic Forces, regime forces and militias, and extremist organisations in the south. Demilitarising society and reuniting the country became a core transitional task requiring disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration, and security-sector reform. The new authority dissolved the regime's forces and launched a status settlement for soldiers to re-enlist or return to civilian life. Thousands enrolled, while others—especially in Alawite coastal areas—abstained and some formed anti-government factions that launched attacks culminating in a large coordinated campaign on March 6.

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