A Stranger Came to Town: Accounts of the War in Syria

Four men. Four stories. Four alternative views of the battle for Aleppo.

When the stories of the war in Syria are told will they be reduced to simple tales of good and evil? What will they include and what will they leave out? And will each be able to be summarised, like the old saying suggests, as A Stranger Came to Town?

There are four characters in this film, each from the Syrian city of Aleppo. Four men who once lived a stone's throw away from one another, but who took four different paths as revolution, violence and chaos engulfed their city. Four men who now fear that their homeland may be lost to them forever.

Where is the next battleground in Syria?

The Syrian government celebrates the retaking of Aleppo, but is it enough to secure the final victory?

The capture of all of Aleppo is President Bashar al-Assad's biggest success since the war in Syria began almost six years ago.

It is a crushing defeat for opposition fighters who have been forced to retreat.

Does Assad have enough manpower and weapons to protect the territory his forces have retaken while at the same time trying to win back more areas?

Abandoning Aleppo: Evacuation of rebel-held areas

Buses take fighters and their families out of eastern Aleppo under a fragile ceasefire.

It is an evacuation that effectively ends a four-year battle for what was Syria's financial centre and largest city before the civil war erupted.

Thousands of rebels, their family members and other civilians are being moved out of the last opposition-held areas of eastern Alepp

Aleppo: Beginning of the end of Syria's war?

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad on the verge of capturing the key city of Aleppo, but at a heavy cost.

Syrian government forces, backed by Russian and Iranian allies, announced that they had recaptured east Aleppo from opposition rebels.

Russian leaders say the fall of Aleppo is a "major victory" against people the Kremlin calls "terrorists".

The Syrian government used boots on the ground, air strikes, and siege tactics to win back the city where opposition fighters seized control in 2012.

A ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey on Tuesday was supposed to end the fighting, with the besieged rebels and civilians given a safe passage out.

Within a few hours, however, shelling of the city intensified and buses sent to evacuate thousands of Syrians returned empty.

Mosul and Aleppo: A tale of two besieged cities

We examine the difference in the coverage of Mosul and Aleppo. Plus, the Lebanese media mosaic.

Mosul and Aleppo: Two cities under siege 

With conflicts in the Middle East ongoing, it's up to the media to inform us about what is happening on the battlefield. Both, Mosul in Iraq and Aleppo in Syria are cities held by armed groups, surrounded by avenging armies and bombarded by international air power. But with all the geopolitics in play, reporting from the field is seldom black and white.

Talking us through the story are: Dmitry Babich, journalist, Sputnik International; Howard Amos, independent journalist, Russia; Lina Khatib, head of the MENA programme, Chatham House; and Kim Sengupta, defence editor, The Independent (UK).

What has Russia accomplished in Syria?

One year on, what has been the impact of Russia's air campaign on Syria's war?

It has been 12 months since Russia entered Syria's war.

Russian air strikes began after a request from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said ISIL fighters were the target but Russian critics say there's a different agenda.

Russian pilots are accused of targeting civilians and backing the Syrian regime suspected of using chemical weapons and barrel bombs on its own citizens.

The US government is threatening to end all cooperation with Russia if the bombing continues.