A statistics-based study that covers what has happened in Syria between April 10, 2011 and 31 January 2016. The study focuses on the Syrian opposition, in general, and the number of the foreign fighters, in particular. Some of the numbers mentioned here are approximate due to the disappearance of the bodies. The study literature builds on what has been published by websites, media and internet pages, both inside Syria and outside it. It also depends on other 51 sources, some of which are listed at the end of the research.
Key Findings:
1.
The number of foreign fighters who have fought the Syrian army between April 2011 and the end of 2015 is 360,000. The number does not indicate a totality of all the fighters who fought together; rather it refers to the total number in the time span of the study. The figure includes men and women, all those who participated in the fighting directly, by taking up guns, or indirectly, by providing military and logistic support, in addition to doctors, nurses, marriage jihad women, drivers who took up arms, and the people involved in digging tunnels or building soil mounds. It is found that 95,000 were killed, and that 120,000 have departed, either temporary or permanently, to their home or other countries, and 24,000 were missing. The missing person, by definition, is the one who has not shown for more than 6 months.
2. The number of the foreign fighters who are fighting the Syrian army is estimated to be 90,000 in Syria; most of them fight within the ranks of ISIS and al Nusra Front, compared to those fighting with other factions.
Comment: This move shows the European Commission's desperate attempts to keep the EU project afloat amid mounting crises.