After battling insurgency for 13 years, the Bashar al Assad regime has collapsed in Syria. Assad and his family have fled to Russia where they have been given asylum. An Al Qaida affiliate that today goes by the name of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has taken control of the Syrian capital Damascus.

The immediate future of Syria now depends on the leader of the HTS, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, a man who was handpicked by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to establish a branch in Syria.

What were factors behind the sudden overthrow of the Assad regime, which not many had foreseen? What are the implications of this for Russia and Iran, Assad’s biggest backers? What are the implications for the various minorities such as Shias, Christians and the Syrian Kurds? And what does this mean for Palestinians in Gaza and for Lebanon?

Guest: Iftikhar Gilani, a senior journalist who has reported for three decades from South Asia and the Middle East and is currently based in Ankara.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.