A rebel group changed the course of Syria's long civil war when it seized Aleppo this past weekend. The Syria Report's Jihad Yazigi tells us what motivates the group's canny and mysterious leader. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon Rosen and Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Anouck Dussaud, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Rob Byers, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members A rebel fighter celebrates after they seized control of Aleppo, Syria this past weekend. Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Way back in 1982, Syria's dictator Hafez al-Assad brutally crushed an uprising in the city of Hama. He sealed the city, he cut off food and electricity, and then his army started shelling, and then he sent in troops. This was long before Twitter, so while thousands of people died, it took time for that massacre to be fully understood. There were only a few journalists there.
But it was a huge death toll, and the smoke hung over the city. It was a very frightening place. I did see it. I guess I'm sorry I saw it in many ways.
As dictators do, Hafez handed Syria over to his son, Bashar al-Assad. Like his dad, he crushes dissent with violence. But earlier today, Syrian rebels entered Hama. They say they've taken that city back from al-Assad. In the past week, this rebel group has changed the course of a 13-year civil war. And the story of how they did that is coming up on Today Explained.
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This is Today Explained.
Jihad Yazidi is the editor-in-chief of the Syria Report. It's an online publication. For 23 years, he's written about Syria, including, of course, the country's civil war, in which rebels are fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
The conflict in Syria began in 2011, initially as a popular uprising against the regime.
They are calling it the Aleppo volcano. In Syria's second largest city, protesters are determined to bring down their regime. They took to the streets on Thursday, defying heavily armed security forces.
As dictators fell from power following the fervor of the 2011 Arab Spring, peaceful protesters in Syria also demanded a change in leadership.
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