For more than a decade, Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria were America's most trusted ally, spearheading the war against Isis, taking responsibility for guarding thousands of jihadi prisoners of war, and in the process carving out an autonomous statelet that seemed poised to realise the dream of Kurdish independence. Over the past few weeks, that dream as has been crushed.
In a sudden offensive, Ahmed Al Sharaa's transitional Syrian government has evicted the Kurds from vast territories including the country's biggest oilfield. Abandoned by their American allies, the Kurds have been forced to cede ground including the sprawling Isis prison camps. What now for the Kurds, for Syria, and for the jihadists Isis veterans?
To answer this and more, Roland is joined by The Telegraph's senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan and Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Security, Dr Burcu Ozcelik from RUSI.
Read Dr Burcu's research paper on northern Syria: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27342855
Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive Producer: Louisa Wells
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