Hugo Bashega
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
Idlib. This was the rebel stronghold in northwest Syria, run by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. HTS is now in power in Syria and trying to take its way of governing to the entire country.
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
Dr. Hamza Al-Murawah moved from Aleppo early in the war and has witnessed all the changes in Idlib since HTS took control in 2017, including this hospital, set up in an old warehouse.
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
In Idlib, HTS run the economy like any country. They tax goods, border crossings and trade, and run telecommunication and energy companies. The income allows them to provide public services and fund their military operations. We tried to interview a local official, but were told all of them had gone to Damascus to help in the formation of the new government.
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
HTS has its roots in al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the UK, the US and the UN. For years, they've been trying to convince the world they've changed and that they want to build a Syria for all Syrians.
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
An hour's drive from Idlib, in the small Christian village of Kinaya, the church bells rang for the first time in a decade on the 8th of December to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime. People here don't seem concerned that minorities like them could be at risk with Islamists now in charge. Friar Fadi Azar says there's no reason for concern.
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
Do you think they've changed?
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
HTS dominance has not been without discontent. Protests like this one in March have been held against the detention of rivals and what some say is an authoritarian rule. Fuad Saidissa is an activist from Idlib.
Global News Podcast
Syria's de facto leader says the country is not a threat to its neighbours or the west
From the ruins of a war and a dictatorship, a nation is being reborn. But what kind of nation will it be?