Operation Deterrence of Aggression, led by armed Syrian opposition factions from Idlib, began on November 27, 2024, and culminated with the fall of the Syrian regime and the escape of Bashar al-Assad on December 8 of the same year. In the days following, dozens of stories, reports, and interviews surfaced, narrating the battle “from the inside” and revealing the “final hours” of Assad’s reign. Yet, this condensed recounting of the most pivotal phase in Syria’s history often overlooks the other side of the story—the “Syrian Army” or “regime army,” as it is commonly referred to. To this day, we lack a clear understanding of how the army responded to this “battle” that reshaped Syria’s future.
The Syrian Army: “Full Combat Readiness”
From the outset of the operation, several reports emerged about the Syrian Army. On November 27, the pro-Assad Al-Watan newspaper published a brief article detailing how the Syrian Army was “pounding” breaches by Al-Nusra in the Idlib countryside. The following day, November 28, the paper reported similar strikes, declaring that the “era of de-escalation” had ended.
In contrast, a “classified telegram” issued on November 28 by the Syrian Army’s Operations Directorate, uncovered by Daraj at the Air Force Intelligence headquarters, revealed a different tone. Signed by General Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim, Chief of Staff of the Army and Armed Forces, it stated: “Given the rapidly evolving developments, all units, divisions, departments, and formations are to be placed on full combat readiness as of the receipt of this telegram.”
The official orders emphasized the army’s wartime posture. The telegram added: “Leaves are canceled, overnight stays are prohibited, and units must remain prepared to execute any assigned mission… to protect forces from any sudden ground or air attack. Commanders are to remain at their posts.”
Despite the official rhetoric of defeating “terrorism” during the regime’s final days, reports continued to surface about clashes with the opposition forces, desertion by Syrian soldiers, and other alarming incidents. Among these were rumors of the opposition hacking the army’s wireless communication systems, broadcasting orders to withdraw. Although these rumors were short-lived, they served as a justification for soldiers abandoning their weapons and leaving their posts. Further reports emerged of over 2,000 Syrian soldiers fleeing to Iraq, alongside threats from regime-affiliated militias declaring their refusal to disarm.
Even in its final days, the Assad regime clung to its notorious surveillance and bureaucratic rigidity, contrary to the urgency outlined in the aforementioned telegram. The last duty roster for officers in December 2024 revealed routine schedules. Records from the General Intelligence Directorate in Kafr Sousa, Damascus, showed that the last day of official work under Assad’s security apparatus, December 5, 2024, included routine orders for security reviews of foreign journalists and civil society activists entering the country. The registry of outgoing and incoming communications ended abruptly with entry number 2055, leaving the remaining pages blank forever.
“Redeployment” Before the Fall
Two days before the regime’s fall, on December 6, Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas delivered a televised address explaining the army’s “necessity to adopt appropriate combat tactics, including advances, retreats, and withdrawals from certain positions.” He confirmed the “redeployment of our armed forces outside Hama.”
The Syrian Army’s movements remained largely opaque, but Daraj obtained an intelligence document revealing that on December 5—one day before the minister’s address—the “Brigadier General of Military Intelligence Branch 227” received a “classified and highly urgent” telegram. It instructed Major General Bashar Khalil Iskandar, commander of the special forces deployed in the Syrian Desert, to execute a “maneuver” and consolidate battalions (804-972-255) in the Houweisis area, specifically the T-4 military airbase, before advancing to Homs, where the troops eventually regrouped at the city’s sports complex.
Bashar Khalil Iskandar had been appointed in June 2024 as deputy to Souhail al-Hassan, commander of the Special Forces. The telegram also detailed the deaths of nine military personnel, the highest-ranking of whom was the commander of Battalion 804, along with two young soldiers described as volunteers born in 2005 and 2006.
Those Killed in the Hama Front Ambush
The soldiers killed during an ambush by opposition forces in the Hama front (Jabal Ali Zein al-Abidin) on December 6, 2024, were reportedly victims of the intensifying clashes and the extensive use of drones, as evident from images of the drones deployed in that day’s battle. In 2019, a video surfaced of a soldier from Battalion 804 addressing “big brother Bashar al-Assad,” lamenting the suffering of soldiers and their unmet demands.
A document dated December 6, 2024, indicates that battalions stationed in the Homs sports complex were ordered to “redeploy” to the Mashrafiyeh area or the College of Engineering. Correspondences also reveal that the Special Forces Battalions (708, 95), stationed in the Hama countryside (Qamhana and Jabal Zein al-Abidin), retreated to the Hama Military Airport before losing contact, leaving their subsequent destination unknown. Another redeployment from the Rabia area in Hama to Salhab included reinforcements from the Fifth Division.
The situation in Damascus was not as extreme but hinted at the imminent execution of a “special security mission” by the Syrian Army. A “highly classified” document dated December 6, 2024—less than 48 hours before the regime’s fall—reviewed by Daraj at a Republican Guard brigade, expressed concerns about the “presence of some sleeper terrorist cells that could potentially carry out sabotage operations aimed at destabilizing security and stability, disrupting reconciliations, spreading chaos, endangering the safety of peaceful citizens, and causing losses among our armed forces.”
The document proposed that the 108th Commando Regiment undertake a “special security mission” to “secure protection, achieve stability, and track down sleeper cells or sabotage activities.” This involved setting up checkpoints on major roads and village entrances near southeastern Damascus, as well as deploying “mobile checkpoints” (known colloquially as “flying checkpoints”), infamous for detaining thousands of Syrians. It also called for forming raid and assault teams.
Simultaneously, the document noted the 108th Regiment’s readiness to execute its military operations in the Damascus countryside, its “combat mission” in Latakia, and its “security mission” in Sweida. The distinction between the missions—whether bureaucratic rhetoric or significant differences—remains unclear.
The Night of the Fall
According to Mohammad al-Jalali, Prime Minister of the ousted Assad regime, he tried contacting the Minister of Defense on the night Assad fled, but his calls went unanswered. Shortly after the orders outlined in the classified document, local sources in Dummar, where the 105th Brigade was based and where the document was found, reported the regiment’s evacuation. Senior officers, conscripts, and soldiers deserted in succession. By the evening of December 7, 2024, when civilians stormed the barracks, the headquarters was empty. Shortly afterward, “Jabhat Fath Dimashq” forces, led by Ahmad al-Awda, became the first to enter the capital.
The documents reflect a contradiction between security orders advocating “redeployment” and military orders emphasizing readiness for battle. Most regime soldiers chose not to engage in the fight, a sentiment epitomized in a viral video showing two Syrian Army soldiers jokingly announcing: “Mass discharge… Sunday… Mezzeh highway… 2024… The Syrian Arab Army is done.”
