There has been a steady flow of defections to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) which have been documented in defection videos.

Western intelligence reports indicate that as many as half the army conscripts did not report to army duty in the last three call-ups, and that lower-level officers are deserting in large numbers.

Many of the FSA fighters are now being trained in makeshift military camps in Idlib province in the north of the country.

Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley reports on the growing strength of the opposition army.