Syrian rebels advance across the country
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 November 2024
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Syria's president Bashar al Assad has promised to defeat those he described as terrorists and their backers, in his first public comments since a blistering rebel offensive began four days ago. Mr Assad said he would do so with help from his allies. The Jihadist-led forces have retaken swathes of land from his regime's troops, including much of Aleppo and are now reported to be approaching the city of Hama.
Also on the programme: we hear from Georgia's president Salome Zourabichvili amid the third night of anti-government protests; and will the buzz surrounding Gladiator II and Wicked help to turn around the film industry's fortunes?
(Picture: Syrian opposition fighters tear up a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in central Aleppo. Credit: Karam Al-Masri/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. Coming to you live from London, |
| 0:07.3 | I'm James Kamara Sami. We begin today in Syria and the rapid and unexpected de-frosting of an |
| 0:13.6 | apparently frozen conflict that is having some pretty dramatic results. Today, Russian warplanes |
| 0:18.7 | have been in action over the city of Aleppo for the |
| 0:21.1 | first time in eight years and tonight questions are even being asked about the future of the Assad regime. |
| 0:27.0 | The reason for both of that is the rapid advance of Islamist rebels into Syria's second city and now |
| 0:33.3 | beyond. The rebels led by a group called HTS, previously an al-Qaeda offshoot called the |
| 0:38.4 | Nusra Front, took control of much of Aleppo over the last three days with little opposition. |
| 0:43.9 | And as the Syrian government's Russian allies bombed targets in that city from the sky today, |
| 0:49.0 | the rebels have been advancing on the ground in the direction of the Syrian capital. |
| 0:59.3 | Right, right. advancing on the ground in the direction of the Syrian capital. That is reportedly the sound of celebratory gunfire, as some of them entered the city of Hamar, |
| 1:04.9 | 140 kilometres south of Aleppo and just over 200 kilometres from the capital, Damascus. |
| 1:11.3 | We have tried without success to reach representatives of the Syrian government. |
| 1:15.4 | However, Yusuf Hamud, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups, the Syrian National Army, |
| 1:20.7 | did respond to our text messages and we've voiced up his answers. |
| 1:25.2 | First of all, what is the status of the advance? |
| 1:28.6 | The progress is good. It was slow in al-Bathar, but now there is a complete collapse of the |
| 1:34.4 | regime's army and the Iranian militia working with it. So would they go as far as Damascus? |
| 1:41.9 | According to the data, we can say the city of Homs, but anything is possible, |
| 1:46.6 | and the collapse of the regime may reach Damascus with the advance of the military forces in the Syrian revolution. |
| 1:53.3 | And did he really believe that the Syrian regime was close to collapse? |
| 1:57.3 | The collapses that have occurred indicate that the regime is preparing to retreat towards the coastal region while taking control of Damascus. |
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