They are not conscripts anymore and have not been since the civil war started in earnest. They are clan based military units allied with the Assad government.  The fact remains that the insurgency is unpopular in Syria among Sunnis and the regime would not have survived if the Sunnis had moved en mass to end it. This leads to the difficult conclusion that reestablishing the SRA authority over Syria remains the best and lest bloody way to reestablish peace.