The British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) international radio outlet BBC World Service says it will expand and enhance its broadcasts targeted at listeners in Syria following recent political developments there.
The broadcasts will transmit on medium wave (MW, or AM radio) and FM radio stations in and around Syria, and are intended to provide an independent source of news and information to listeners there.
The announcement comes about a week after the government of Bashar al-Assad fell to rebel forces, who overtook the country’s capital of Damascus after a 14-year civil conflict. The situation ended five decades of rule under by the al-Assad family. Al-Assad’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Starting this week, BBC World Service will utilize two radio stations on medium wave and one FM radio station to offer Arabic-language news bulletins, including “Arabic News at One” and “Arabic’s Newsnight.” News broadcasts will also be available in English during parts of the day, the organization said.
“As we have all been watching, listening to and reading about the dramatic changes that have swept through Syria, the Syrian population have been left without essential access to reliable and independent news about the events taking place,” Jonathan Munro, the Global Director at BBC News, said in a statement. “The BBC World Service’s enhanced services will bring them the latest breaking news and analysis from Syria, the Middle East and the rest of the world.”
In addition to the BBC World Service on radio, BBC News Arabic and BBC News in English are available on satellite throughout Europe and the Middle East, including those in Syria with free-to-air satellite TV systems.
