The rebels turned rulers providing law and order in Syria
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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson, and in the early hours of Tuesday 17th December, these are our main stories. We report from the Syrian port city of Latakia, where the rebels, who are now the de facto rulers, are providing law and order. Germany's embattled Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses a vote of confidence in Parliament, triggering the early elections he wants. France's President Macron will fly to Mayotte to oversee the relief operation after Cyclone Chido. Also in this podcast, the businessman and close confidant of Prince Andrew, who's accused of spying for China, has been named. And hundreds of new species have been discovered in the Mekong region in Southeast Asia.
Every time we look, every time we take the time and patience to peer under a rock, look behind a tree and so on, we find new things. And to me, that's part of the excitement, that's part of the joy of living on this planet.
We start in Syria where just nine days since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad the people continue to celebrate their newfound freedom. There were celebrations also in the port city of Latakia. But Bashar al-Assad and most of his military and intelligence staff were Alawites. and following recent attacks, some members of Latakia's minority Alawite community say they're now too scared to leave their homes. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, Syria's new de facto rulers, have pledged to protect everyone. Its fighters are patrolling Latakia's streets to try to curb any violence. From there, our Middle East correspondent Quentin Somerville sent this report.
It's hard really to do justice to the sense of bewilderment that's being felt about how quickly the Assad regime has fallen and the rebels have taken over this country. And that bewilderment is felt most sharply here in the Alawite heartland, the former Assad stronghold of Latakia. I'm walking right now past the statue of Hafez al-Assad. It's just his boots remaining. The rest was pulled down by protesters. Where it stands now, there is the new Syrian flag with the green banner and the three stars rather than two. It's a transformation. I'm walking along here among the crowd with his two sons. Ismazim, hello.
Hello, nice to meet you. We feel freedom after years of terror. No democracy. All peoples of Syria dream to reach this day.
And what do you think about the Assad family?
Could you delete this question?
When I turned my microphone off, Mazem had more to say. The Assads were terrible people, he said, but he pointed to his two sons. He said, you don't understand the terror we were under here. I couldn't even tell my sons the truth for fear that they would make a mistake and would be revealed for criticising them. It's worth remembering the Assad's rule by fear, even over their own supporters. They said there would be massacres here in Latakia if they ever lost power. Well, instead, around me there are celebrations. A big crowd gathering just as prayers end in celebration of this astonishing victory. This was a regime that was so venal, so corrupt, that even its supporters suffered. The Alawites too are some of the poorest people in Syria.
So there's a real sense of joy here today, but there's also an undercurrent of fear. Some haven't even left their homes since the regime change because they worry that there will be a reckoning and that they will have to pay a heavy price for the support of the old regime. This is Latakia's military intelligence branch, perhaps the most feared place in the city. It's in a bit of a state now. The portraits of Bashar al-Assad have been torn down. There's one on the floor. They've even removed the eyes. Locals would avoid passing the gates of here. It was so feared. Now, in this courtyard, our young men, they're HTS fighters. They're now the law here. A woman's made a complaint to the police. She says that her apartment has been stolen from her.
We've just arrived at this pretty upscale neighbourhood. It's an Alawite neighbourhood. The woman who made the complaint is now back inside. Her apartment was requisitioned by one of the Sunni rebel groups, not HTS, a commander. He's now been told to give it back, but that gives you a sense, really, of the sectarian tensions which are simmering here in Latakia.
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Speakers
24 identified
Alex Ritson 6 min
Quentin Somerville 3 min
Damian McGuinness 3 min
Giovanni Cecconi 2 min
Rob Watson 2 min
Mark Wright 2 min
Rachel Wright 2 min
Salama Ramia 2 min
Unnamed Survivor 2 1 min
Samira Hussain 1 min
Advertisement voice 1 min
Lippa Capellum 1 min
Catherine Cracknell
John Ballos
Dan Jarvis
Julian Marshall
Eric Samvar
Noor
Jürgen Hart
Gukesh Damaraju
Mazem
Unnamed Survivor 1
Matthew Amarola-Waller
Unnamed Speaker
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