The Interview

Surviving Syria’s sectarian violence


Listen Later

Tim Franks speaks to a British-Syrian Alawite who came under attack, along with her family, during the sectarian violence on Syria’s coast in March.

The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam and its followers make up around 10 per cent of Syria's population, which is majority Sunni.

The recent violence came after fighters loyal to the country's overthrown former president, Bashar al-Assad, who is an Alawite himself, led deadly raids on the new government’s security forces.

Those attacks resurrected deep-seated anger over Assad’s repressive dictatorship, with Alawite civilians seen by some as complicit in the crimes of his regime - and as part of the insurgency that followed his fall.

The new Sunni Islamist-led government had called for support from various military units and militia groups to respond to the attacks on its security forces – which then escalated into a wave of sectarian anger aimed at Alawite civilians.

Human rights groups estimate that around 900 civilians, mainly Alawites, were killed by pro-government forces across Syria's coastal region in early March.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Tim Franks

Producer: Ben Cooper
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The InterviewBy BBC World Service

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

320 ratings


More shows like The Interview

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,415 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

367 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,830 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,697 Listeners

Economist Podcasts by The Economist

Economist Podcasts

4,256 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

528 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,781 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,086 Listeners

World Business Report by BBC World Service

World Business Report

282 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

957 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,950 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,044 Listeners

The History Hour by BBC World Service

The History Hour

589 Listeners

Business Matters by BBC World Service

Business Matters

47 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

754 Listeners

The Real Story by BBC World Service

The Real Story

275 Listeners

Amanpour by CNN

Amanpour

1,024 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

813 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

740 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,989 Listeners

The Explanation by BBC World Service

The Explanation

28 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

162 Listeners