BBC News Arabic bucks trend with 13 per cent audience rise to 39.5 million per week
BBC News Arabic is now the BBC World Service's largest language service, which aims to provide journalism to a global audience of 39.5 million people a week in the Arabic-speaking world across TV, radio and digital.
In a year of international conflicts, crises and elections, audiences have chosen to turn to BBC News Arabic. The BBC's largest language service has seen growth across its broadcast offering, BBC News Arabic TV, digital programming and emergency lifeline radio services.
Bucking the wider industry trend of declining audience interest in broadcast news, BBC News Arabic TV has seen its weekly viewership rise by 3 million people compared with 2023-2024.
Tarik Kafala, BBC News Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, 'This has been an extraordinary year for news, and our growth in audience this year is a testament to the dedication of the BBC News Arabic team, and the strength of our offering to audiences. In a world of decreasing media freedom and increasing polarisation, the tenacious work of BBC News Arabic journalists, reporting without fear or favour, is more essential than ever.'
In line with its commitment to providing vital services to audiences in crisis, this year BBC Arabic launched an emergency lifeline service in Syria, keeping listeners up to date with vital information following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This service follows the successful launch of the Arabic lifeline service in Gaza in 2023, which broadcasts crucial news bulletins twice a day.
An audience of 1.2 million listeners are now tuning in weekly to the BBC Arabic Gaza and Syrian lifeline services across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
Kafala added, 'Audiences have chosen BBC Arabic for news which is independent, impartial and accurate. We can see the tangible impacts of our journalism on our Arabic-speaking audience, and through the wider World Service, and the many other audiences BBC News serves. We remain committed to helping our audiences understand what is happening in the world through our in-depth reporting, and serving those most in need with our emergency lifeline services in Syria and Gaza.'
In line with its commitment to providing vital services to audiences in crisis, BBC Arabic has also provided a vital service to younger audiences through the launch of Dars Arabic. An Arabic-language edition of the BBC World Service educational programme, Dars – which was described by the United Nations as a 'learning lifeline' for children in Afghanistan.
At least 30 million children are out of school in the Middle East and North Africa, many have been displaced by conflict and crises in Sudan, Yemen and Gaza, which have severely affected access to education.
Broadcasting across BBC Arabic TV and across BBC Arabic's digital channels, Dars Arabic aims to connect these children facing immense barriers to an education with learning – utilising the content and expertise of BBC Education to offer children aged 11-16 lessons in Maths, English, Science and Geography at varying skillsets.
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Middle East Eye
13 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Syrian foreign minister in Russia for first meeting since Assad's overthrow
Syria's foreign minister said his country wanted a 'correct and sound' relationship with Russia on Thursday as he visited Moscow in an apparent attempt to mend relations with the erstwhile enemy. In December, Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebels and he fled to Russia, which had been his staunch ally during the 14-year Syrian civil war. Moscow has had decades of close ties with Damascus, which deepened during its ultimately unsuccessful military intervention on Assad's behalf. These included several economic agreements. On Thursday, Syria's new foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, spoke with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov about maintaining agreements struck with Assad's government, as well as the future of Russia's military bases in the country. 'The relationship between nations is a historical and humanitarian one, but some governments are spoiling this relationship,' Shaibani said at a news conference. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'We are here today to represent the new Syria, as we want to establish a correct and sound relationship between the two countries based on cooperation and mutual respect.' He added: 'Of course, there are a number of factors that determine and complicate these relations on the ground.' Russia's naval base in Tartus and its airbase at Hmeimim are Moscow's only official military outposts outside the former Soviet Union. They were key to Russia's support of the Assad government, which prevented his overthrow for many years after the 2011 uprising. Lavrov said Moscow was ready to help Syria rebuild after more than a decade of devastating conflict and to review 'agreements and contracts concluded under different conditions', and said their decision to remain allies 'doesn't depend on the political situation or changes of government'. Neither minister said whether there had been any discussion of the status of the military bases. Assurances Despite providing a haven for Assad, Russia has quickly moved to try to build connections with the new government in Syria. Footage released in January appeared to show Russia removing vehicles and containers from its base in Tartus on the Mediterranean coast. Why Syria needs to play the long game against Israel Read More » Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke for the first time in February, with the former saying he was ready to reconsider agreements signed between Russia and Syria under Assad. 'Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Russia's invariable readiness to help improve the socio-economic situation in Syria, including the provision of humanitarian aid to its residents,' the Russian presidency said at the time. Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra is also part of the delegation to Moscow. In February, he told the Washington Post that this government was open to allowing Russia to retain its bases if there were 'benefits for Syria'. The status of Assad, however, could remain a sticking point. Shaibani called on Russia to support a 'transitional justice' process in Syria, possibly referencing Assad's presence in the country. He also said Syria had formed a committee to review existing agreements with Russia. In January, Sharaa reportedly requested Russia extradite Assad. The Russian government refused to comment on the matter at the time. Israeli attacks Shaibani's discussions with Lavrov also touched upon Israel's recent attacks on southern Syria. Since the fall of Assad, Israel has repeatedly bombed Syrian military targets, and invaded even more Syrian territory than the Golan Heights it occupied in 1967. Earlier this month, Israeli attacks intensified, which Israel said were done in support of the Druze minority. However, the raids only raised communal tensions, which broke out into sectarian clashes that killed about 1,200 Druze and Bedouin Syrians. Speaking alongside Lavrov, Shaibani said that Israel's attacks on Syria posed a serious threat to his country's recovery 'These attacks not only represent a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter, but also disrupt the process of reconstruction, exacerbate the suffering of civilians, and fuel cycles of violence and instability,' he said. 'We have received a commitment from Russia to reject these attacks and stand with Syria to prevent these violations.' Lavrov concurred with his counterpart and called on members of the international community to help de-escalate the situation. 'We have always been against the use of Syrian territory as an arena for geopolitical conflicts to settle scores between various countries,' he said. Russia and Israel have had a close working relationship in Syria, where Israeli attacks repeatedly struck Hezbollah and Iranian-linked targets. In 2019, Russia helped recover the remains of an Israeli soldier buried in Syria.
Middle East Eye
21 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Sweida after the ceasefire: Executions, a mass grave, and the voices left behind
The air in Sweida still carried the stench of death. Four days after a ceasefire was declared, the southern Syrian city seemed frozen in horror: charred cars, shuttered stores, and bullet-riddled homes, with the rare pedestrian moving cautiously through streets patrolled by armed men. In this Druze-majority province, more than 1,200 people have died in just one week of sectarian fighting. The bloodshed began on 13 July after a Druze man was kidnapped by Sunni Bedouin. In retaliation Druze militias abducted several Bedouins. Long-simmering tensions between the two communities then erupted into violence. On 15 July President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government deployed elements of the Syrian army and General Security forces into Sweida, officially to 'restore order'. Bedouin tribal fighters, claiming to support their 'oppressed brothers', also entered Sweida. Widespread abuses against civilians followed. Israel launched air strikes. The army withdrew. A US-brokered ceasefire went into effect on 21 July. Just beyond the first Syrian forces checkpoint and the makeshift post manned by the Syrian Civil Defence (White Helmets) lies a no man's land. A giant Druze flag flutters nearby. Several men in military gear linger around it. They smile broadly. It's one of the first visits after the ceasefire was announced. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Inside the city, queues stretch endlessly for bread and fuel. 'We're under siege,' says Hosam, 22. 'Lack of power, lack of food, lack of medicine. We're just trying to survive now.' On Tuesday, a fourth humanitarian convoy of 22 trucks entered Sweida, carrying food supplies, fuel and medical kits. But severe shortages persist, especially in water, electricity and medicine, while sporadic clashes continue to unsettle the fragile ceasefire. In a nearby neighbourhood, Deema, 41, stands quietly in front of her family's ancestral castle. She carries a delicate beauty. The portrait of her grandfather in traditional Druze attire is shattered. Her voice is steady as she recounts the day her husband was killed. 'Shut up or we'll kill you' On 16 July, the day after Syrian forces entered Sweida, her husband Ali and six other male relatives were executed in the town square. A video of the killings, uploaded by one of the perpetrators, shows the men walking in a line, hands behind their heads, surrounded by armed men - some in military fatigues - before being shot dead in broad daylight in Tishreen Square. But the video doesn't show what came before: the eight-hour ordeal Deema and the other women of the house endured as hostages. 'They surrounded the house at 6.15am,' she recalls. 'We tried to hide upstairs. They dragged the men away. When we started crying, one said, 'Shut up or we'll kill you.'' Armed men kept arriving at the house in groups, every thirty minutes. They ransacked the home, stole jewellery and hurled insults. A wounded Druze girl lies in the Sweida National Hospital after attacks by armed men on her house in Sweida (Anagha Subhash Nair/MEE) One man, whom Deema identified as a Bedouin, told her: 'I'll stay the night and rape you.' Another asked: 'Should we kill all the women?' Someone replied, 'No, one of them is beautiful.' 'They called us Druze pigs. Said we hate Sunnis. That they were here to kill us all.' At 3pm, Deema escaped with her children while their captors were distracted. 'I can't stay in this house. I sleep at friends' places now. A single gunshot, and I collapse,' she says. Moatasem, a childhood friend of the family, drove the bodies to the hospital. Lowering his voice, he says: 'There were dozens of bullet wounds in each body. And I saw at least 10 more corpses on the road when we drove to the hospital.' Hosam Saraya, 35, who had come from the US to visit after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, was among those executed. 'He wanted to start a charity here,' says Moatasem. 'They shot at me while I ran' At the city's main hospital, the second floor is filled with wounded. In one room, six patients lie in narrow beds. A 19-year-old, Safi Dargham, stares blankly, his face disfigured. A bullet entered through his ear and shattered his jaw. He was hit in the leg, arm and head - while looking for bread for his family. 'I didn't have a weapon,' he says. 'They just shot me. I recognised some of them - Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, some had Islamic State symbols,' he adds in reference to HTS, the now-dissolved militant group, previously headed by Sharaa, that overthrew Assad's government. 'I saw a tank. They shot at me while I ran.' Blood-soaked scrubs discarded in the compound of Sweida National Hospital (Anagha Subhash Nair/MEE) Safi is a film enthusiast who runs a small production studio. His father, who worked in a shoe factory, was killed the same day. 'My trust in this government? Less than zero,' he says. In the bed next to him lies Wael Radwan, 63. He was among 21 men gathered in the madafeh - a traditional guest room used for hospitality - when gunmen stormed in. 'We offered them coffee, as tradition demands,' he says, voice trembling. 'One of them sneered, 'You Druze pigs. No coffee with you.' Then they opened fire.' More than half were killed. A video shows their bodies bleeding out on the floor, unarmed and dressed in civilian clothes. 'I believed in the revolution,' Wael says. 'I marched every week against Bashar al-Assad for one year and four months. We wanted a government that protects all of us as Syrians. Not this. Not slaughter.' Children, women, body parts South of the city, Bassem Abou Saab drives to the top of Mount al-Rahha. There, in a makeshift mass grave, 20 metres long, he helped bury more than 100 bodies. 'There were children. Women. Body parts. I've barely slept since,' Abou Saab says. The blood is still there, stains marking the road. Several Bedouin families also suffered violence as Druze militias carried out retaliatory attacks. Homes were looted or set on fire, some families forcibly expelled by Druze militias. Government troops suffered losses as well, with around 400 killed in the week of fighting. 'We offered them coffee, as tradition demands. One of them sneered, 'You Druze pigs. No coffee with you.' Then they opened fire' - Wael Radwan, Sweida One teenager from the Bedouin community, a 17-year-old who asked not to be named, was evacuated from Sweida by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. 'We escaped death,' he says softly. 'We thought they would burn us alive.' He is now in Izraa, 30km away, with 40 other families who were forcibly evacuated. They're now housed in a school, sleeping in classrooms turned into dorms. Bedouin witnesses say they were beaten, rounded up in mosques, and threatened with execution. Some showed mobile footage of neighbours being shot in the street. In Shahba, a mixed village in Sweida, and surrounding towns, Bedouin families described summary executions, arson and mass expulsions. Abdulraz al-Jawarin, a 40-year-old man from Shahba, lost six family members and 20 people on his street. 'They killed my mother while she ran,' he says, showing her picture. 'She was trying to escape. They shot her.' Displaced Bedouins have no idea whether they will be able to return home, fearing reprisals from Druze militias. It could all start again The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, cited 'credible reports' of extrajudicial killings and kidnappings committed by all sides: the army, Bedouin militias, and local Druze forces. US Senator Marco Rubio condemned the violence and urged Damascus to 'hold perpetrators accountable - including within its own ranks'. According to Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), a Syrian rights organisation, the same pattern seen in the recent massacre of Alawite civilians along the coast may have been repeated in Sweida. In March, armed opposition factions carried out a brutal attack on several Alawite-majority villages along Syria's coastal region. Dozens of civilians were killed, including women and children, in what human rights monitors described as a targeted sectarian assault. Notorious war criminals led bloody attacks on Syria's coast Read More » 'Beyond the likely involvement of state security forces in the massacres as in the coastal massacres, in Sweida the government allowed convoys of Sunni Arab tribal militiamen to pass through official checkpoints into the city,' says STJ director Bassam Alahmad. On 22 July, a government commission published the findings of its inquiry into the coastal massacre, naming 298 individuals suspected of killing civilians - but according to SJT's director, it avoided acknowledging the state's institutional responsibility. Yassin al-Haj Saleh, a Syrian writer, analyst and long-time dissident during Assad's government, tells Middle East Eye: 'This isn't an accident. It happened twice. Either the state has lost control, or it's complicit. In both cases, it's a disaster.' Sharaa thanked the Bedouins' 'heroic stance' on 19 July but urged them to leave Sweida city as they "cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security". 'We demand they now respect the ceasefires,' he adds. Saleh says this may be a point of no return as one of the biggest challenges for Syria is the disarmament of groups after 14 years of civil war. 'We escaped death. We thought they would burn us alive' - Bedouin teenager '[Sharaa] talks about disarming groups not registered with the Ministry of Defence, while thanking armed groups outside the state. What message does that send to others? To the Kurds? To the Druze? To anyone else who carries weapons in the country?' says Saleh. 'It's a green light for everyone. It's legitimising chaos. I see no indications that he's trying to stop the extremists.' Bedouin tribes remain at the border, ready to re-enter Sweida. Inside the city, the ceasefire holds - but only barely. Most men carry weapons, their pockets filled with ammunition. Sporadic gunfire echoes from the outskirts. Everyone knows that it could all start again.
The National
2 days ago
- The National
'We will never go back': Bedouin families forced into permanent exile after Sweida violence
Khitam Hawarin, an 18-year-old Bedouin from the town of Shahba in Syria 's Druze-majority province of Sweida, said she lay soaked in her own blood for more than an hour. She recalls watching helplessly as her mother's corpse burnt beside her, after Druze fighters had opened fire on her family. The assailants killed her mother, her aunt, her uncle's wife, her grandmother and two cousins, including one who was only six years old, as they hid behind a stone wall. 'Everyone died, except for me,' she said two weeks later, her arm and leg wrapped in white gauze, her movements sluggish with pain and grief. The young Syrian survived only because Druze neighbours intervened, taking her to a nearby hospital. 'They told people I was their daughter and changed my name so no one would know I was Bedouin,' she said. Armed men from Druze factions had been roaming the hospital, threatening to kill any Bedouin they found. 'There are good Druze and bad Druze,' Khitam said candidly. 'The ones who attacked us were armed. The ones who saved me weren't.' She spoke little, still visibly in shock, her brown eyes heavy with sorrow. Khitam and her family were evacuated days later in a humanitarian convoy. The girl, who was supposed to take her baccalaureate exam this summer, is now living in a classroom in Izraa, in Syria's Deraa governorate, as a displaced person. She no longer sees a future for herself. The school is one of 64 displacement centres hosting thousands of families who fled the vicious sectarian violence that erupted two weeks ago between Druze militants and armed Bedouin. What began as retaliatory attacks between two long-standing rivals escalated rapidly, as Syrian troops entered the fray on July 16. Druze factions, who distrust the new authorities led by a now-disarmed rebel group formerly affiliated with Al Qaeda, accused Syrian forces of siding with Sunni Bedouin and mobilised to repel them. The violence soon engulfed the entire Sweida region, killing more than 1,300 people, including civilians from both sides, general security forces, tribesmen and Druze gunmen, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, Though a ceasefire between Druze leaders and Damascus was announced on July 19, civilians are still reeling from the conflict and the situation remains unstable. No return Though Druze civilians were the primary targets of the sectarian clashes, Bedouin families were also subjected to summary executions, according to testimonies gathered on the ground. The National could not independently verify all witness accounts. Bedouin families accused the faction aligned with Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, the influential Druze religious leader and vocal critic of Syrian authorities, of being behind the violations. Sweida governorate, home to about 700,000 people, includes a small Bedouin minority. Families interviewed by The National said they had lived peacefully alongside their Druze neighbours for years. They described the recent violence as a turning point, one that is irreversible. 'This is a departure with no return. It's truly a change in the religious and cultural make-up of the region,' Cedric Labrousse, a specialist in Syrian affairs, told The National. 'If you remove those who left voluntarily, those who were evacuated in recent days, and those still trying to flee, there won't be many Bedouin left here in a few weeks. Most Bedouin homes have been burnt. So even if they return, where would they go?' He said what had long been a localised feud between some Druze armed groups and certain Bedouin factions has now taken on a deeply sectarian dimension. 'It wasn't really there before, but now it's been implanted and it will stay in people's minds,' Mr Labrousse warned. 'Just imagine what Bedouin children will think of the Druze after this. And imagine what Druze children will think of the Bedouin in 20 years.' Hind, Khitam's sister, said she saw a missile tear a child apart. 'His head flew one way, his body another, right in front of my eyes,' she said. 'We can't go back. There's no way we can ever return." Their home has been looted and burnt down. Meanwhile, in a Druze-majority village, tribal fighters daubed graffiti on walls that read 'down with the collaborators, down with the Druze pigs'. In Sweida, The National also collected harrowing accounts from Druze civilians who survived attacks and summary executions, which they said were committed by Syrian troops and tribal gunmen. 'I don't see how trust between the two communities can ever be restored,' Mr Labrousse said. Marginalised community Mr Labrousse said the conflict between some Druze and Bedouin started as a trade rivalry. 'For years, Sweida has relied on smuggling, drugs, fuel, weapons … control over trafficking routes has always been critical, even before the civil war,' he said. He said that during the war, the smuggling business, particularly Captagon trafficking, expanded significantly, involving Druze and Bedouin groups. Their alliances often shifted, with groups alternating between business partners and rivals. He said that after former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's fall, many cartels, storage sites and Captagon warehouses were dismantled'. 'This led to the collapse of the informal economy, the main source of livelihood in marginalised Sweida. Druze and Bedouin groups began fighting over a shrinking pool of resources, further fuelling tensions." But this time the feud took on a sectarian dimension. On one hand, 'the Bedouin have been gradually pushed to the margins of Druze society,' Mr Labrousse explained. 'The Druze had organised themselves, with their own local administration, while the Bedouin felt increasingly excluded, neglected, and marginalised.' On the other hand, the Druze remain distrustful of the new Syrian government, citing its Sunni Islamist roots, and view the new Syrian government as more sympathetic to the Bedouin. The Druze are a minority religious group that emerged from a branch of Islam, with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Some hardline Sunni Muslims consider them heretics. Their distrust has deepened as the Syrian Ministry of Defence continues to struggle to rein in a patchwork of factions, some of them radical, despite pledges of unification. In March, nearly 1,500 mostly Alawites citizens, the minority sect to which former Mr Al Assad belongs, were killed in a spree of sectarian violence, reportedly involving groups recently integrated into the army. At the start of the recent clashes, thousands of tribesmen from across Syria deployed to Sweida to support Bedouin fighters opposing Druze factions. 'Some of them had clear sectarian motives,' Mr Labrousse said. They stayed in the area for days despite calls from interim President Ahmad Al Shara to withdraw. 'I can't trust anyone' Assaf Mohammad Dahmash, a Bedouin man at a displacement centre, said he would never return to Sweida, a place he had called home since 2016 when he fled from ISIS in Deir Ezzor. 'They're capable of doing bad things. Not all of them, some are truly good people. But I don't think anyone can trust any more,' he said. 'It's become pure sectarianism. Like, if they see a Sunni, they will slaughter them. I heard a sheikh say that with my own ears." He said he had good relationships with his Druze neighbours in Sweida, whom he may never see again. 'I called my friend yesterday, we've known each other since 2016. We used to eat and drink coffee together. He was crying on the phone. His house was looted and his car was burnt. He told me to come back to Sweida but it's impossible.' A member of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, providing humanitarian assistance at one of the shelter centres, said the number of displaced people was still rising and there is no plan for what comes next. In the displacement centres, families are too shocked to even think about it. 'People here have no hope, no ambition. They just want shelter, wherever it may be,' said Mr Dahmash.
