Syria: 70th anniversary of the Syrian Army celebrated

The Syrian Army celebrated its 70th anniversary with a military parade in Al-Remaya arena, near Damascus, Sunday. Footage shows over a thousand soldiers from the Syrian Arab army and the pro-government militia fighters at the military ceremony. Displays of military displays and soldier exercises were part of the celebrations, including an assault course in which soldiers jumped through rings of fire. The event also featured new all-women battalion that the Syrian military is introducing to service. The event was attended by Commander in Chief Bashar al-Assad and the Minister of Defence General Fahd Jassem al-Freij The Syrian army was founded on August 1, 1945. The last official number of personnel was documented prior to the Syrian conflict in 2011, when 125,000 active service people and at least 200,000 reserve personnel were listed.