In Syria, governors hope for end to 'exile' "Welcome to Idlib province!" the Syrian governor proclaims, seated in a converted classroom in Hama city some 90 kilometres (55 miles) from his real office, held by rebels since 2015. With opposition fighters led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate in control of the province he was appointed to lead last year, Ali Jassem instead works from the second floor of a Hama school. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES