The foreign fighters who helped topple Assad — and why China worries about them

A senior Uyghur militant stands in an olive grove in northern Syria, where Uyghur commanders say their fighters began an ultimately successful assault on Syrian regime forces in November 2024.

Thousands of Uyghurs became key fighters against Syria’s Assad regime. For the first time, they agreed to be interviewed. NPR spent weeks with some of them to understand why they fled China for Syria.

(Image credit: Emily Feng)