Syrian government says operation against Assad loyalists over
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What are the key points of the Syria conflict update?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Rachel Wright and at 14 hours GMT on Monday the 10th of March, these are our main stories. Syria's defence ministry says it's ended a military operation in its coastal provinces where hundreds of people have been killed in recent days. The trade war between the US and China ramps up. The US will take part in the first negotiations over Gaza since President Trump was elected. Also in this podcast, we hear about the cyber hackers working in North Korea.
They have been around for at least 15 years doing this. They have been very involved in a variety of large attacks over the years.
We begin this podcast in Syria, where the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus have been witnessing the worst outbreak of violence since December of last year, when insurgents overthrew the former president Bashar al-Assad. Since Thursday, clashes between Assad loyalists and the security forces have brought havoc to several cities and towns, reportedly killing more than a thousand people.
What is the situation like for the Alawite community in Syria?
Most of the dead are members of the former president's Alawite minority. Now the Syrian Defence Ministry says that calm has been restored in the region, but members of the Alawite community say they still fear for their lives. The BBC spoke to someone in Latakia who, for their own safety, asked us to withhold their identity. So one of my colleagues has voiced their answers.
How am I feeling? I am totally terrified. I have my family. I'm sitting all day and all night with them. I don't know when the jihadis will arrive outside our house and start killing us. That's the truth. No one can help. There's no police we can call, no security, no nothing. Just because I'm an Alawite, I have no rights at all.
Our correspondent Lena Sinjab gave us this update.
There has been lots of efforts by the official authorities to contain the situation, to stop the violations, but also the interim president announced a committee to investigate the killing, whether it's conducted by remnants of the Assad regime or by members of the fighters or factions that are affiliated to the new authority. And right now they say that it seems that the situation is, you know, under control or calming down, especially around Tartus and Latakia. But we're not quite sure if this whole operation is over yet.
And even if it is over, the situation is very complicated and factional. It's going to be very hard for the new government to maintain order, isn't it?
It is a very challenging time indeed, especially with remnants of the Assad regime still out and about. And of course, we have the challenge of all the foreign fighters who are, you know, still inside Syria and are reported to have been, along with some of the factions who entered Jabli and Baniyas and conducted the mass killing. And that's why the interim president said that there would be an organ like a committee to protect civil peace dedicated to work with the families on the coastal side. But I have to say, it's going to be a very big challenge because, you know, these groups, both sides, the Alawites who are remnants of the Assad regime, who have vested interest in destabilizing the situation elsewhere. are armed.
The radical groups or the foreign fighters who have conducted also crimes over the past two days are armed. How he's going to strike this balance, how they're going to stop them, take them to courts, that's going to be the big challenge coming ahead to reassure not only the Alawite community, but the whole Syria and the international community that is watching the situation developing.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What are the key points of the Syria conflict update?
0:38–1:51
2
What is the situation like for the Alawite community in Syria?
1:51–5:41
3
How is China responding to US tariffs?
5:41–9:27
4
What are the latest developments in the Gaza ceasefire talks?
9:27–13:12
5
What is the current status of the Ukraine conflict?
13:12–16:30
6
What is the significance of Russia's expulsion of British diplomats?
16:30–29:36
Speakers
13 identifiedMore from Global News Podcast
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