member states to the coalition. it feels it will almost a target. many in the opposition saw it as an attack against one of the most powerful rebel groups. they enjoy support on the ground and are warning other rebels no to become u.s. proxies. >> they take advantage of the oppression that isil has carried out against you. as an excuse to join the ethical coalition because they want to enjoy the region. >> many syrians of the rebel-held territories have agreed with. not targeting government forces instead. anti-western sentiment is growing because of civilian casualties. activists support more than 20 people have been killed in the

bombing raid. u.n. officials say they hav --u.s. officials say they have under estimated this war against isil, but many are saying those airstrikes are doing more harm than good. >> let's talk to the syrian affairs analysts who joins us live from washington, d.c. what is your evaluation then? how successful have a week of airstrikes but the u.s. air coalition been? >> well, they've certainly hit isis headquarters and garrisons quite severely. it has not stopped advance in kurdish regions. we have to wait and see which area the forces give way. the rumor is and reports are that they've melted into the population, so it has become harder and harder to hit as this goes forward. >> how concerning is it that these reports that we're getting the fact that other groups that

were not in the first phase affiliated and were, in fact, sworn enemies of isil and actually defecting, are these groups defecting to isil and some reports saying thattal news are a front are swearing its allegiance now. >> that's unclear. it's not surprising. al nusra seeks the same end through different means. they are all battling the assad regime, so with the strikes on isis, it's not surprising that groups like news are a and alqaida-affiliates would decide to get together. of course there is attention between th--there is tension between the groups and i would not expect the groups to stay together forever. >> how far is the syrian government capitalizing on the tumult taking place on the country. not long ago they managed to retake an area that had

previously been held by rebels. >> they are able to retake some of these areas in which there have been airstrikes or where isis has withdrawn. the question is going forward are they able to hold those areas. that's always been the weakness of the assad regime forces. we'll see if this is any different. >> what did you think of the foreign minister statement to the u.n. general assembly. it all sounded rather event, the fact that there is an u.s.-led coalition from the air further north. it sounded rather convenient for the syrian government. >> it did. it was a laundry list of messages that the regime has been putting out for the last year. they have spent so much time praising and winning the elections in syria, and how the international community had to go through him. >> okay. thank you very much, indeed.

live from washington, d.c. thank you. >> well, th we're lucky enough to have him in studio in doha, what do you think so far of the overall aim, the objective to degrade and destroy isil? >> well again, the objective is to degrade isil. it's not to replace the regime in syria, president assad. right now with the airstrikes they have been effective, but i think what the public has to understand there is not the end-all to the campaign. >> i think everyone is getting that message. pretty much everyone is saying that, aren't they? it's not stopped isil in its paces. isil is getting ever closer to kobane. the center of population. >> they are, both in syria and iraq they're moving forward.

iraq after seven weeks of airstrikes. airstrikes have to be combined with an effective ground campaign. the most effective ground campaign right now in that theater is in iraq with the iraqi security forces and the kurds. remember that the iraqi security forces were initially overwhelmed by isil. the air power has allowed them to start to regroup, but still after all these weeks isil was still firmly in place. they're still on the offensive. contrast that with what you have in syria. there is no ground force available right now, and it could be months before enough trained and armed moderate rebels, whatever that might be, can actually put in place into syria. until then all you have on the ground there is--all you have is air and the only ground component going against isil will be the assad forces. >> and going back to the statement to the u.n. general

assembly, he seems to be conflating every axis of battle going on in his country eventually for the damascus government. >> there were two things anticipated with his speech. one, the call for international coalition to fight isil centered around damascus. but also i think a lot of this was to show that assad is fighting isil to get what support he was losing inside syria back inside. >> thank you very much, indeed. >> you're welcome. >> let's look at other news now. tens of thousands of pro- democracy demonstrators continue to rally in hong kong, despite calls from police to go home. these protests are now in their second week. it is peaceful in contrast to sunday night with police.

we go among the demonstrators. what is the scenario this evening. i can see it's quite late in the evening. >> it is very late in the evening, and there is no sign of these thousands of people leaving. there are tens of thousands of people on the streets in hong kong. they've been singing songs, they have been creating chants. one of the most popular chants is for the chief executive here to resign. and occasionally there will be big cheers that will go up when certain banners are on display there is an effort to parade around here when people boo. and the hate figure, if you like, for people of this occupy movement. and there will be cheers for rivals here. we have trucks arriving here. we're not sure what is on these trucks, but this whole

occupation area is gaining a kind of permanence about it. people have set up stores of water and food. now we've got trucks arriving, we're not sure what is on them. it could be more provisions, but you start to think if they make this area more permanent they may bring in sound stages and things like that. there was and the intersection of a sound system yesterday that preempted the authorities to try to clamp down and stop people from getting into the occupation. now with people spilling into the different areas of hong kong, it's very much in control at the moment. maybe their numbers will drift off during the night. but remember just a few hours ago we were wondering whether the numbers would fall to such a level that there would be a return of the riot police and return of the tear gas. there is no return of those so far this evening.

>> and rob, i know it's really difficult to be accurate, and it looks as though tens of thousands of people are out on the streets protesting against china's electoral policy, but are you able to tell us how representative these people are? do they comprise the majority? >> there are a mixed crowd here of demonstrators, many young people. remember, this was a student-led demonstration that started the whole ball rolling. still it is a very young demographic, if you like, but also lots of ordinary hong kong people who have come out in support. you have the trade union who have come out supporting the occupied central campaign. they do represent a real ground--a real feeling. there was a ref reaso referendum a few months ago

whether they wanted true democracy in hong kong. according to the authorities here, the silent majority, as they call it, we've seen some of that in the pro beijing in the sector of hong kong society. they've come out with their own marchs. there has been very little side from them so far in this past few days. they have apparently been meeting tonight to decide what kind of response they're going to have to this just as the government itself will have been in late-night talks, burning the late night oil, as beijing obviously will have been doing. >> rob, thank you very much. rob mcbride in hong kong. and apologies to the quality of the line. so far china has been taking a soft approach to these processes but has made it clear it won't tolerate on dissent.

>> china's leadership has been restrained in its response to events in hong kong. but it's clear they think unnamed countries are behind the unrest. >> we oppose any country that interferes with china's internal affairs. we also firmly oppose any country that supports the occupied central movement in any way. >> the student-led process in hong kong bring back uncomfortable memories of what happened in beijing more than 25 years ago. where the occupation of tienanmen square ended in bloodshed. but what will china do if unrest worsens in hong kong? where it has 6,000 soldiers? >> it is very pragmatic, i would say, let the whole process run it's due course, and in this process i think people in hong kong in my best adjustment

will come to the realization that peace and stability are more precious than chaos and instability. >> but is this another hint of government thinking? the article says china's armed forces could restore order in hong kong. it appeared on the website of the global times newspaper but since has been deleted. on the streets of beijing most people told us they were unaware of what was happening in hong kong. they did say that they felt the process did go too that are. >> occupying the city centers is too aggressive. there must be some outside forces behind this. >> strict media controls have been tightened. state tv is mentioning the unrest but is not airing any services, and instagram has now been blocked. china hopes the process it calls illegal will taper out,

expressing confidence that the hong kong authorities will contain the unrest and insisting that it will never give in to the protesters demand. >> it's president spoke to al jazeera before the hong kong protests. insisting beijing must be prudent in how it handles dissent. >> it is not only important to the people of hong kong, taiwan is also watch going but no one is watching more closely than china's government. adrian brown, al jazeera, beijing. >> now to afghanistan now the new president is creating a unity government. he said that corrupt officials have to be removed if afghans want rule of law. just before the swearing in ceremony, a car bomb killed

seven people. >> protecting the rights and interests of the afghan people. ashraf gandhi is sworn in, in a democratic transfer of power. then signed a degree creating a new job chief executive to be filled by his former rival abdullah abdullah. now they must work together in an unity government. abdullah says it will make the changes that afghanistan needs. >> based on the agreement of national unity government we are in a government for the sake of reforms. in all political and social sectors of the government we are together. afghanistan today needs national unity, security, and prosperity based on the agreement for national unity and economic development and administrative reforms as required by the nation of afghanistan we are

committed. >> gandhi in his inauguration speech that the government will serve the people. >> if they want to have rule of law, the high level officials who are involved in corruption should be removed so that we can have a transparent judicial system. and all those wh involved. >> and promised a new relationship with international partners. the new president acknowledged that his government had much to do and the job won't be easy. >> we have big security challenges. we have a huge economic challenge that needs to be tackled immediately. but overall i think a rule of law is something that needs immediate attention. >> before the ceremony hamid karzai reviewed the presidential guard for the last time as afghan leader, and promised to help the new government in his role as citizen. he also asks for the support of the people.

most have been affected by the economic down turn. >> it was always smiles at the inauguration as the new leaders promised to leave the past behind. in the days ahead there will be a new cabinet and chance to show that the unity government can, in fact, work together. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. >> let's go live now to our correspondent in washington. so congratulateory message were president obama and secretary of state john kerry nor president obama turning up for the inauguration, but they must be relieved. >> when the secretary of state released a statement a couple of hours ago congratulating the transfer of power, he did not miss an opportunity, martine, to

take a swipe at hamid karzai talking about the tensions between the u.s. and afghanistan under his leadership. however, he went on to say that karzai was a nationalist and a patriot, and said that he did what he had to do for out of love for his country. that said the u.s. is much more pleased to be dealing now with the presidency of ashraf gandhi and the chief executive abdullah abdullah, two men that they believe will be much more cooperative especially when it comes now to the imminent change from a command of posture the u.s. military has had in afghanistan to training and supporting the afghan military starting at the beginning of 2015. >> yes, it looks as if the lack of acting signing that really annoyed washington, wasn't it, and we understand that it's due to be signed within hours. on tuesday.

local time. trying to get some of the budget savings that would come from shifting from a military combat operation to a training operation. it's much less expensive. and it also under scores the u.s.' concerns about whether ham mid karzai had been dealing with the west in good faith, or whether he was actually allowing some of the forces that was destabilizing information to continue their work. we're talking about the taliban.

they do believe under the presidency of ashraf gandhi things have a potential to become much more stable. >> okay for now, ros, thank you very much, indeed. now on to the indonesian island children are regularly risking life and limb to racehorses even though it's illegal for them to work. children as young as five are skipping school to earn money for their parents. we have reports that racing is seen as a tradition which needs to be plain takenned. >> he was three when he started training. >> during the time the young riders have provided the horse owners the lightweight act they want from their competitors in a

sport fueled by gambling. >> i'm afraid of the small horses because they're still wild, and when people start hitting the horses i'm afraid to fall. >> his twin brother can't race any more. his fall left him unconscious for six days and when he woke up he found himself partially paralyzed. even with that the boy's desperate parents believe they have no choice but to let him continue racing. when he does he earns around $70 a day. >> of course i'm afraid. they are my children. but if we do in the go to races my daughter cannot go to college. her little brothers are paying for her education. >> in reality these races are all about money and excitement. and the safety of the jockeys seem little importance. during al jazeera's visit three jockeys fell while racing. none use saddles or have

protective gear. just minutes after five-year-old boy fell, he was forced to race again. there are national child protection laws in the country, but the racing and the gambling this, place this o this is placed on the children. >> if you want to protect the children, you have to discuss this with all involved, and the horse owners. we cannot change the rule because this is our interest tradition, and the tradition is above any law. >> some ask why children are still allowed to ride without protection, one who asks is this photographer who documents their children. during that time two jockeys has died. but he hopes to persuade the national government to change the rules.

>> a country needs to protect it's children. and give them safety and opportunity to get an education. i don't see this at all with the jockeys. even during the races there is no ambulance, and i took two children myself to the hospital on a motorcycle after they fell. >> it's clear that action is needed. >> what we want is a regional regulation that for bids children under 15 years to become jockeys. if they insist on using younger ones there has to be strict regulations. >> he knows that his brother has paid a high price but for now he'll continue to race at high speed without the protection he deserves. al jazeera. >> time to catch up, here's robin. >> thank you very much.

we'll start with tennis. it's been a dramatic first day in japan open with the men's number two seed bundled up in the opening round. ferrer with a strong com start. and coming back against the spaniard, holding his victory, his first win of his career. ferrer was not the big men casualty in the first round. dolgopolov fell and was defeated by the syrian wildcard in just

over an hour. the bulgarian wrapping up a victory which keeps him in contention for the finals. and use back stan claimed gold in canoeing in asia games despite an hour delay due to bad weather. they would come from behind to security first place in the 1,000-meter k 1 race. from the 12 gold medals, uzbekistan claimed six of them.

the team in blue beating china in the final. and mlb, the cardinals have ended their regular season on a high clinching their second straight national league. the only run coming in the sixth inning when the final score 1-0, st. louis will start the series against the l.a. dodgers on friday. the detroit tigers have made their way to the playoffs hosting th giving the tigers the 1-0 lead. they would add two more runs. 3-0 the score there. celebrating their win.

>> we just keep our heads down and continue to work hard. and we're in. >> the oakland athletics with the 4-0 win over the rangers in texas on sunday. the postseason hopes rest on the do-or-die against the kansas city royals on tuesday. and yankees fans at their home stadium last week. this time the boston red sox with a chance to say good buy to derek jeter. fenway park, the 14-titime all-star was in his final game for the yankees. applause all around the shortstop whose final head helped new york defeat boston, 9-5. >> i'm ready for it. you know, i thought it was a

wonderful job that the red sox did before the game. you know, that was pretty special. after everything that happened on thursday night, the emotions going up all over the place, i'm ready for it now. >> and we'll have more for you later. >> thank you very much. have a good evening. >> now al jazeera is continuing to demand the release of its three journalist who is are imprisoned in egypt, mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste have now been detained for 275 days. they are wrongly accused of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. mohammed and peter were sentenced to seven years in jail. bader mohammed was convicted for another three years for a bullet

casing picked up at a protest.

>> more strikes against isil targets in kobane. syria sends its troops to the border. hello again i'm martine in doha. also to come on the program tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters occupy hong kong's business district. signing in as afghanistan as new president, ashraf gandhi and abdullah a