What is Syria’s future after eight years of war?
US-backed Kurdish forces are conducting their last operation against ISIL fighters in eastern Syria.
Eight years ago this week, 15 Syrian teenagers were arrested and tortured for spraying anti-government graffiti on a school wall.
That was the beginning of an uprising that led to a civil war which continues today.
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The Syrian conflict has killed an estimated 450,000 people, according to the UN, and displaced nearly six million.
The United Nations and European Union are holding a donor conference in Brussels, Belgium, to raise $9bn for humanitarian assistance.
With the war now entering its ninth year, what does the future hold?
And what hopes are there for peace?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Taleb Ibrahim – Syrian political analyst and former professor at Auburn University, Alabama
Yahya Al Aridi – Syrian high negotiations commission spokesperson and opposition representative
Wa’el Alzayat – Former senior Syria adviser to Samantha Power, the former US ambassador to the UN
Richard Gowan – Senior fellow at the United Nations University