ALEPPO, Syria — In the battles against the armed opposition in the northern Hama countryside, south of Idlib province, the Syrian regime is recruiting fighters of opposition factions who have reconciled with Damascus in recent years, some from the southern provinces of Daraa, Damascus and Quneitra, and others from Homs province in central Syria.
The Syrian government forces have recruited thousands of fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions who have reached settlements with the regime in the areas where the opposition was defeated in 2017-18, namely in eastern Ghouta in Rif Dimashq and in the provinces of Daraa, Quneitra and Homs.