Feras Kilani (born 2 April 1976) is a Palestinian-British journalist and film maker, and BBC Arabic's special correspondent. He is best known for his coverage in war-zones in the Middle East, specifically reporting from

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Career

He started his media career in 1995, in the Syrian State TV in Damascus where he worked as a Director, and documentary maker until 2006, when he left to join Al Bayan in United Arab Emirates. Kilani joined

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

in 2009. During his time at the BBC, he was News Editor for 2 of BBC Arabic's flagship programmes, World at One and the Arabic version of Newsnight.

Libya uprising

On 8 March 2011, while reporting on the Libya uprising for BBC Arabic TV, Kilani was picked up at an army roadblock near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

along with two BBC colleagues. They were imprisoned, beaten and subject to mock executions at Khalat al-Farjan farm behind the Yarmouk headquarters just outside Tripoli. After 22 hours they were released.

Syrian conflict

Kilani has covered the Syrian conflict for the BBC since it started in 2011. In 2016, he gained exclusive access to Islamic State-held city of

Manbij Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.

as Kurdish forces fought to retake it, making him the first international journalist to get inside the city since the start of the battle to force IS out.

Battle of Mosul

In November 2016, during his coverage for the

Battle of Mosul (2016–17) Battle of Mosul may refer to: * Battle of Mosul (1107), a battle in which Kilij Arslan I of the Rum Seljuks conquered Mosul * Siege of Mosul (1743), an offensive in which the Persians besieged the Ottomans * Battle of Mosul (1745), a battle between ...

in Iraq, Feras Kilani and cameraman Marek Polaszewski were following soldiers going door to door to clear homes of suspected militants in the city when a car bomb exploded. Video footage showed IS launching a full attack in the confusion that follows. Kilani said it took three hours for the Iraqi forces to contain the attack.

Documentaries

Kilani directed multiple documentaries during his career. Most of his work with Syrian State TV was not archived, but the documentaries he produced for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

were. * ''Awaiting return – Palestinian refugees in Syria'' (2003) * ''Exile:

Abdul Rahman Munif Abdul Rahman bin Ibrahim al-Munif (; May 29, 1933 – January 24, 2004), also known as Abdelrahman Munif, was a novelist, short story writer, memoirist, journalist, thinker, and cultural critic. He is considered one of the most significant a ...

's life'' (2004) * ''The Twins: Beirut and Damascus'' (2005) * ''Syyaf Al-Zuhour:

Muhammad al-Maghut Muhammad al-Maghout (1934–April 3, 2006) () was a renowned Syrian writer and poet. Biography He was born in the town of Salamiyah, Hama Governorate, in Syria to an Isma'ili family. He was married to the poet Saniya Salih. Muhammad Maghout ...

'' (2006) * ''Libya's Torture Farms'' (2012) * ''The fight for Justice: Nusra Front in Syria'' (2013) * ''The Fight for

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilani, Feras 1976 births Living people 20th-century Palestinian journalists 21st-century British journalists 21st-century Palestinian journalists BBC newsreaders and journalists Palestinian documentary film directors People from Damascus Damascus University alumni