For the first time since Yom Kippur War, Syria to call up army reserves
The reservists would likely be sent to East Aleppo, which recently fell to regime forces.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: DECEMBER 19, 2016 16:42Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad flash victory signs and carry a Syrian national flag on the edge of the historic city of Palmyra in Homs Governorate, in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 26, 2016. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Syria's President Bashar Assad has issued a nationwide call-up of army reserves for the first time since the Yom Kippur War, Iran-owned Al-Alam news reported Monday. The article claimed that the reservists would likely be sent to East Aleppo, which recently fell to regime forces, and has been the scene of shocking destruction and violence against civilians. Syrian Civil War: The battle for Aleppo, SyriaIt will never be known how many have died in the city, tens of thousands certainly is not an unfair estimate. They are just some of the 11 million Syrians displaced by war and the 600,000 or more killed. Many have accused the Syrian regime and Russia of committing war crimes, including targeting hospitals. Some 20,000 have been evacuated from the city ruins so far.
The number of reservists called up will "rival the 1973 sum" the article claimed. In the Yom Kippur War, Syria lost over 3,000 soldiers as Israel repelled its advances in the Golan Heights.