President Bashar al-Assad urged more Syrians to join the army, saying a shortage of troops is the main obstacle preventing the military from winning the war.

Assad, speaking a day after he issued an amnesty for deserters, said that while more people have been joining the army, the number of soldiers wasn't enough to win a conflict fought on multiple battlefronts. He also said that his appeal doesn't mean the military is collapsing.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hamad mosque in Damascus. Credit:Reuters

The amnesty "is one step, and the rest is up to society," he said in a televised address on Sunday. "The people who don't defend the homeland have no homeland."

The remarks are a rare public acknowledgment of the government's struggle to crush a four-year rebellion seeking to end Assad's rule. Government troops, supported by gunmen from the pro-Iranian Hezbollah group, are fighting dozens of rebels and militant groups including the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army, as well as Islamic State and an al-Qaeda affiliate.