Syria: Behind the Lines

The war between Syrian rebel fighters and their government is just one of the many current conflicts happening in the world. When both sides believe they’re in the right, the war can drag on for years, and in the end nobody wins. Frontline traveled to the frontlines to document the war from both sides to try and get a better understanding of what everyone is fighting for.

Syria: Behind the Lines is interesting because it captures stories from both opposing forces of the internal war. Frontline doesn’t sugarcoat anything either. There are frequent views of dead and dying citizens who happen to get caught in bombings. Much of the death happens while covering the rebel army side of the conflict, and it depicts a disturbing picture that simple news stories can’t convey. One man loses multiple members of his family in seconds after a blast takes out a group of local buildings. It’s a sad sight to see.

On the other side of things, you see soldiers who are dedicated to their government and are simply following orders. They believe they’re dealing with terrorists and that what they’re doing is for the better of the country. Frontline visits one of the public schools and witnesses nothing but love and patriotic chants about how great their president is. It’s crazy to think that just outside that school are armed soldiers launching rockets across the river that separates them from the rebels.

It doesn’t matter who's right or wrong in the case of war. The death toll speaks for itself. Syria: Behind the Lines does an excellent job at capturing the events on camera and documenting both sides of the conflict. There are no special features or extras of any sort, though. It’s just a single hour of great reporting.