Video PlayerClose

DAMASCUS, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army will apply as of Monday a new decision to end calls for reserve military personnel in the country, a pro-government newspaper reported.

Al-Watan said the pursuit of wanted young men who have averted to report to the reserve forces in Syrian army will be halted, and their names will be deleted from the wanted list in airports and border crossings.

Those who have been arrested over the past 48 hours for averting to report to the service will be set free immediately, said the paper.

The report, however, spelled no further details about the Syrian soldiers who have already reported to the service and have been serving in the reserve forces for many years.

It noted that the discharge of the reserve forces in the Syrian army, as well as the conscripts, who have been serving for many years during the war as a result of a law to keep them while needed, is being discussed at the People's Assembly and Defense Ministry.

The paper said the new decision aims at facilitating the return of thousands of young Syrians from abroad and the return of refugees as well.

It noted that the wanted men for reserve forces are estimated at 800,000, and scraping off their names from the wanted list will be important to encourage people to return to Syria.

The Syrian army has made several calls for reserve forces throughout the crisis, which is basically choosing men with certain military skills between 18-42, to report to the reserve forces.

The list of wanted men was updated almost daily to checkpoints inside the country and the country's border crossings as well.

The list also includes the names of the draft dodgers, who, unlike the reserve forces who had previously served in the army, have completely averted the mandatory service.

But as the situation in the country has become much better, and the military operations across the country have dramatically decreased, the calls for reserve forces seem no longer a necessity.

The decision will surely be met with great satisfaction among men whose ages are in the range of reserve forces.