Syria

Sednaya prison in Damascus was once synonymous with death and disappearance. Yet over the past week, thousands of families rushed to the prison in the hope of finding their missing loved ones. Many left with no answer. 

Syrians waited in long queues at border gates in southern Turkey this week, preparing to return to their homeland. With a dictator gone and loved ones newly released from prison, many Syrians who have lived in Turkey for years are eager to return. Others say an evolving security situation and financial concerns are giving them pause. 

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country and, for the first time in two decades, Syrians say they are experiencing a taste of freedom. Assad brutally repressed a popular uprising, which started in 2011. His forces killed, tortured and imprisoned those who spoke out against the government. Some Syrians share about what his departure means to them.

Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad and his family fled to Russia where they will be granted asylum. For years, the Kremlin’s political and military support has enabled Assad to cling onto power. Today, Russia’s military still has boots on the ground in Syria — but with the fall of the Assad regime, the Kremlin’s foothold has become uncertain.

The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Martin Smith, the first Western journalist to interview HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani a few years ago for a Frontline film called “The Jihadist.”