Following the overthrow of the Beşşar Esad regime, the Syrian authorities began the process of establishing a new army by integrating the armed opposition groups that took part in the fighting into the Ministry of Defense. Around 22 military divisions that were effectively continuations of the former groups were placed under the ministry. However, these structures largely retained their command hierarchies, regional ties, internal dynamics, and the financial, administrative and social networks formed over more than 10 years. For this reason, the initial phase was limited to bringing the groups together under the same umbrella rather than achieving an institutional merger.
The Damascus administration then moved to the second phase, aimed at dismantling the former centers of power. Soldiers are being transferred to different units while new command hierarchies are being established; units’ deployment areas and duties are also being changed. Sources speaking to Şarku’l Avsat said the main challenge is no longer bringing the groups together but breaking their influence within the army. The process has not yet been completed; some divisions continue to maintain their former structures to varying degrees. The Syrian army is undergoing a transition between an inadequate integration model and an institutional army model in which the chain of command and military decisions are directly tied to the state.
Why it matters
This transformation will determine the new administration’s capacity to centralize authority over the use of armed force and the extent to which the army will function as a state institution. The fact that the former groups retain their command cadres as well as their financial, administrative and social networks shows that formal subordination to the ministry alone is not sufficient to ensure a unified chain of command on the ground. While the redistribution of personnel among different units and changes to their areas of responsibility are intended to weaken local and group-based loyalties, they directly affect soldiers and existing command circles. The key unresolved issue is whether the restructuring can truly dismantle the former centers of power and whether military decisions can be implemented across all divisions under the same state command.
Background
Syria is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: over the past 90 days, we have published 8 news reports mentioning it; the latest was dated September 3, 2026.