Battle Lines

In the first episode of our special holiday series taking a left-field look at conflict and war, we hear personal stories from two countries that have had to grapple with multiple crises in recent years: Lebanon and Afghanistan. Journalist Sune Engel Rasmussen lived and worked in Afghanistan for nearly a decade. He spent hundreds of hours interviewing everyone from Taliban fighters to female activists for his book “Twenty Years: Hope, War, and the Betrayal of an Afghan Generation”   He talks about the lasting impact of America’s post 9/11 invasion in 2001 on young Afghans and how the Taliban managed to make such a startling comeback.Plus: Victoria Lupton, founder and CEO of charity Seenaryo on how Lebanon is faring post-ceasefire deal and their film Tilka, which follows five women navigating the collapse of the country prior to the war.

On today’s episode we speak to Farouq Habib from Syria’s White Helmets about returning to his home city of Homs for the first time in over a decade. He tells us about the devastation Bashar al-Assad wreaked across Syria, and how the country can heal now that the regime has fallen. Plus: The Telegraph’s senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan has been on the Turkish-Syrian border. She’s been speaking to refugees excited to finally be able to go back, but also to Turkish Alawites who continue to have an affinity for Assad. ReadSyrians stream across border from Turkey as guards open crossings, by Sophia Yan:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/10/syrians-flood-across-border-from-turkey-open-crossings/It’s too soon to return to Syria – its new rulers were al-Qaeda members just a few years ago, by Abdulrahman Bdiwi:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/10/first-person-too-soon-go-back-syria-al-qaeda-few-years-ago/

Within the space of 10 days, opposition forces have toppled the Assad regime, ending five decades of the family’s authoritarian rule. In the streets of Damascus, Hama, Homs and Aleppo, Syrians are celebrating, saying this is a new dawn for their country. Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss how we got here, and what happens next. Plus: renowned war photographer Paul Conroy shares his reflections on the fall of Assad, nearly 13 years after the Syrian regime injured him and killed his colleague veteran reporter Marie Colvin.

Roland Oliphant speaks with The Telegraph’s senior correspondent Sophia Yan about her analysis of satellite images showing Russia ramping up its military presence in the African state. Plus: The Telegraph’s James Rothwell on how children are being recruited to carry out gang killings in Sweden.

How has a Syrian rebel lightning offensive managed to seize Aleppo from Bashar al-Assad's regime? Who are the leaders, Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And could it reignite the civil war? Venetia Rainey is joined by Dr Haid Haid, Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at Chatham House, to answer all those questions and more.Plus: an Israeli conscientious objector tells her story of why she spent three months in prison for refusing to serve her compulsory military service.

In today’s episode we get two rare insides from the ground. Our team of reporters just returned from the frontline in Kharkiv and Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council witnessed the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Sudan as a result of the ongoing war. Venetia Rainey catches up with both of them.