The Syrian Arab Armed Forces are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. They consist of the Syrian Army, Syrian Air Force, Syrian Navy, Syrian Air Defense Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Forces. According to the Constitution of Syria, the President of Syria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Minister of Defense holds the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces.
A Syrian soldier manning a checkpoint near Damascus.
Bashar al-Assad (centre) alongside Syrian Defence Minister General Mustafa Tlass (right) and Military Chief of Staff Hasan Turkmani (left), both Ba'athist leaders. Military-Ba'ath party nexus constructed by Hafez al-Assad constitute the backbone of Assad government's support base.
A Syrian soldier aims a Type 56 assault rifle from his position in a foxhole during Operation Desert Shield. The soldier is wearing a Soviet-made Model ShMS nuclear-biological-chemical warfare mask.
Female Syrian soldiers with an MTs-116M rifle in Jobar, December 2015.
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions). A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Circassians, Armenians, Albanians, Greeks, and Chechens. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city is Damascus, followed by Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, Hama, Deirezor, and Raqqa. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunni Muslims are the largest religious group. Syria is now the only country that is governed by Ba'athists, who advocate Arab socialism and Arab nationalism.
Female figurine, 5000 BC. Ancient Orient Museum.
Ishqi-Mari, king of the Second Kingdom of Mari, circa 2300 BC.
Amrit Phoenician Temple
Ancient city of Palmyra before the war