Syrian rebels bear down on Homs
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 December 2024
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rebel forces in Syria are bearing down on the city of Homs, a vital link between the capital, Damascus, and the Assad regime's coastal stronghold. We hear from a Christian priest in the coastal city of Latakia.
Also in the programme: Romania's top court annuls the results of the first round of the presidential election, after the surprise victory of an unknown far-right nationalist; and Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is reborn after a devastating fire five years ago.
(IMAGE: Opposition fighters pose for a selfie in front of a Syrian government building after they entered the city of Hama, Syria, 06 December 2024 / CREDIT: Bilal al Hammoud/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsAv from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:06.9 | We're coming to you live from London. I'm James Menendez. |
| 0:10.5 | Syria's long-running civil war have been largely dormant over the past few years. |
| 0:16.0 | But now it's woken with a start. |
| 0:18.2 | A group of Islamist rebels known by the acronym HTS have broken out of their |
| 0:23.4 | stronghold in the northwest of the country and they're moving and moving very quickly south |
| 0:29.3 | in the direction of the capital Damascus and the government of President Bashar al-Assad. |
| 0:34.6 | In a matter of days, they seized control of Syria's second city Aleppo. |
| 0:39.2 | Then on Thursday, it was Hamar, with its long history of opposition to the Assad regime. |
| 0:44.6 | And now they're bearing down on Homs, the country's third biggest city, about two hours |
| 0:49.5 | drive along the highway to the capital. |
| 0:59.0 | Allah al-Hawah al-ah-ah-ah-ah-bar. along the highway to the capital. That sound from social media |
| 1:00.7 | showing people celebrating as a convoy of rebel vehicles |
| 1:04.0 | drove through a village about 10 kilometres north of Homs. |
| 1:08.8 | And celebrations in Hama too |
| 1:10.4 | as people gathered in the centre of the city to pull down |
| 1:12.9 | a statue of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father and predecessor as president, hated in |
| 1:19.0 | Hamar for putting down an earlier uprising 40 years ago in which tens of thousands of people |
| 1:24.1 | were killed. |
| 1:24.7 | Al-Qar! |
| 1:41.3 | Ah, Latvore! thousands of people were killed. The laboratory gunfire there were one of the rebels in Hammer pledged to continue advancing towards the capital. |
| 1:45.6 | Our joy lies only in the joy of the civilians. |
... |
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