The army is arguing that conscription is needed. With all the separatist and religious unrest in the country of 220,000 million, the current armed forces of 300,000 is too small. Conscription would allow the military to be more than doubled. But conscription would be very unpopular, and many in the military are unsure of how loyal (to the current military leadership) conscripts would be. Volunteer troops are easier to train and tend to be loyal to their commanders.