What next for Syria?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In December 2024, the decades-old Assad regime in Syria fell following 13 years of brutal civil war.
The Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, seized power in the capital Damascus, having co-ordinated a lightning offensive along with other opposition forces across the country.
This week on The Inquiry, we examine how recent events led to the current situation, who the main players are vying for control, and the many challenges facing both the new government and the Syrian people.
Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Evie Yabsley Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Technical producer: Toby James Editor: Tara McDermott
Contributors:
Tim Eaton, Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House
Dr Rahaf Aldoughli, Middle East and North African Studies at Lancaster University
David Schenker, Director of the Arab politics programme at the Washington
Natasha Hall, Middle East programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Image Credit: ABDULAZIZ KETAZ via Getty Images
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Traitors is back, and so is that mysterious cloaked figure with the familiar fringe. |
| 0:06.6 | Yeah, it's me. |
| 0:07.8 | And when you've watched Claudia in the castle, join me, Ed Gamble, for the official visualised companion podcast. |
| 0:13.6 | And remember, I'll be listening. |
| 0:15.8 | Okay? |
| 0:16.6 | No, seriously, I love it. |
| 0:18.4 | What a faithful. |
| 0:19.7 | We'll unpack betrayals and spill scandalous secrets with celeb guests, traitors' legends, and murdered and banished players. |
| 0:27.0 | The Traitors Uncloaked. |
| 0:28.3 | Watch on EyePlayer, listen for more on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:32.0 | Welcome to The Inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett, on the BBC World Service. |
| 0:37.4 | One question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:45.3 | It was a lightning offensive, the news of which resonated way beyond the borders of the region. |
| 0:51.7 | In less than a fortnight, hope had crept back into a country that for over a decade |
| 0:57.1 | had been mired in civil war. For nearly a quarter of a century, President Bashar al-Assad ruled Syria |
| 1:04.6 | with an iron fist, drawing the international condemnation from many countries in the West. |
| 1:17.5 | Then in November of last year, a rebel offensive led by an offshoot of ISIS and Al-Qaeda called Hayat Terrier al-Sham took control of the country in little over a week. |
| 1:24.3 | Foreign ministers and top diplomats from Western countries in the Middle East |
| 1:28.1 | hastily convened in Saudi Arabia to discuss what this could all mean for the country's future, |
| 1:35.4 | and indeed the region as a whole. |
| 1:38.3 | And there was cautious talk of lifting sanctions and money for reconstruction. |
| 1:43.8 | This week on the inquiry, we're asking, what next for Syria? |
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