Syria continues to build its new army as it looks to integrate various armed groups

Members of the Syrian military took part in a graduation ceremony for what Syrian reports said was the 56th Division of the new Syrian army. Syria has been rebuilding its armed forces since the fall of the Assad regime. It has also been working to integrate various armed groups into the new army.

The backbone of the army is the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham units that came out of Idlib and had fought Bashar al-Assad’s military for years. There are other units from southern Syria and also units that were linked to Turkey that have joined the new forces. In addition, the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US, are seeking to come to an agreement about integration. Another small force called the Syrian Free Army, backed by the US at Tanf, is reported to now be part of the new 70th Division of the Syrian army.

According to reports, around 1,200 soldiers graduated from the new course for the 56th Division. The unit had already been in combat in early May against gangs linked to the old Assad regime, Levant24 Syrian media said.

The graduation takes place at a former Assad regime base in Hama province. “In the presence of Chief of the General Staff, Maj.-Gen. Ali Al-Naasan, the 56th Division held a graduation ceremony for a level-up course. The course is part of a military, physical, and tactical training program aimed at raising the readiness of fighters and enhancing their combat efficiency, in accordance with the approved plan for qualifying the armed forces,” the Syrian Defense Ministry said.

Controversial appointments to Syria's new military 

Syria recently appointed Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Khair Hassan as the new deputy defense minister. He has more than a decade of experience fighting in key battles in Idlib and Aleppo when HTS was fighting the Assad regime. Syria has made some controversial appointments in the new military. Ahmad al-Hayes (also known as Abu Hatem Shaqra) has been appointed to the 86th Division. He formerly led Ahrar al-Sharqiya and was involved in human rights abuses against Kurds. He was sanctioned for his role in these abuses by the US.

The new integration of the army and graduation ceremony comes as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa went to Kuwait on Sunday. It also happens amid discussions between Syria and Jordan and as there was an important meeting between representatives from the eastern Syrian authorities of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) and Damascus.

“Syrian government officials and a delegation from the DAANES convened in Damascus on Sunday, June 1, for a formal round of negotiations aimed at implementing the March 10 agreement between President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi,” Levant24 noted.

The delegation from eastern Syria included Fawza Youssef, Abdel Hamid al-Mahbash, Ahmed Youssef, Sanharib Barsoum, Souzdar Haji, Maryam Ibrahim, and Yasser Suleiman, according to sources. It included women and men, whereas the Damascus authorities appear to have only sent men to the meeting.