Syrian Regime’s Recruitment Drive in Afrin Masks Deeper Control and Division

In the contested region of Afrin, northern Syria, a recent push by the Damascus regime to recruit young Kurdish men and religious minorities into its General Security forces may seem like a step towards reconciliation. However, beneath this façade of inclusion lies a troubling pattern of government manipulation that threatens national sovereignty and fuels longstanding ethnic divisions. Is Damascus Offering Unity or Reasserting Control? The Syrian government, weakened but still clinging to power after years of brutal civil war, has undertaken this recruitment drive as part of a broader strategy to reassert its authority over fractious northern territories. Afrin, once...