one of syria's most powerful rebel leaders is killed in an air strike. with the latest world news from al jazeera. also ahead in the next half hour. >> reporter: i will tell you why some sunni tribes men are afraid to return home catering for those in need. money being made out of the refugee crisis. holidays going up in smoke.

bushfires forced tourists to take refuge in centers in australia. one of the most powerful rebel groups in syria's capital has been dealt a blow. its leader has been killed in an air strike. he died alongside five of his commanders in an air strike east of damascus. his group is the largest rebel faction around the capital. they're backed by saudi arabia and attended an opposition conference in riyadh just this month. they cooperated with other rebel groups but are in conflict with i.s.i.l. >> reporter: he was the most powerful rebel commander in

damascus suburbs. his headquarters was only a few kilometres from bashar al-assad's office. he rose to prominence in 2013 when he convinced many armed groups to form an army of more than 20,000 untrained, unarmed fighters. a few months ago zahran attended a military parade. it was the biggest force by the syrian opposition. unlike most rebel factions with units across the country, the army of islam has one base on the outskirts of damascus, with one task, waiting for the government to collapse to march into the capital and secure it.

this is where alloush was killed. he was meeting with military commanders. the syrian army says he was killed in an air strike carried out by the syrian jet. the syrian opposition says the death the zahran may have problems for peace talks. he was not only a military commander, but he was also a prominent preacher with many followers in the damascus area. with his death, the future of the army of islam is uncertain. in 2013 the syrian government killed a charismatic leader. many a year later, many more were killed.

the key arab groups never recovered from the loss of tar their founders. >> translation: he was a major figure figure. he built the organization from a small company back in 2011, mid-2011, to now an organization with 26 command centers, 64 battalions and more or less somewhere between 45 to 50,000 fighters. >> reporter: this is zahran's successor, who has been in charge of an elite unit in the army of islam live for us now, our guest. they are preparing for another round of talks on syria very soon. with something like this happen, what might be the ramifications be? >> reporter: the death of zahran

alloush will definitely undermine talks between the government and the syrian opposition. the americans, in particular, were trying to have the two parties agree to in january, in geneva which have seen reactions yesterday from the syrian opposition, different factions all saying that the syrian government shows they had absolutely no intentions whatsoever no resume genuine talks because while one the top military command yeahs of the opposition, he was able to unify factions on the outskirts of the capital of damascus and he was one of the top leaders who was going to take part in the talks perhaps a real setback for the peace process, but it remains to be seen. thank you for that the turkish military has bombed the south-eastern town of

desisray. six kurdish fighters and one turkish soldier was killed. turkish tanks have surrounded the town in an 11-day operation against the kurdish workers party or the pkk. talks with the group collapsed yearly this year. in yemen 13 houthi rebels have been killed in fighting with pro-government forces. houthi fighters have been trying to reinforce their positions in maree province east of the capital. rebels have held that city since september of last year. thousands of displaced sunni iraqis are calling on an international body like the u.n. to guarantee their safety to return home. the tribes fled their homes in the province of saloou darks ne. some now live in the kurdish region. >> reporter: this man used to be

a soldier. he says he was siting i.s.i.l. and then captured on his way back home by militias. his crime was being sunni. he showed us burn marks on his body where he was tortured for ten days in a youth center because used as a prison. his uncle, who was a police officer died. >> translation: they used to hang up. they used an electric torch on me. nylon set alight was placed on my body. i told them that i am an iraqi soldier. if i.s.i.l. see me, they will kill me. >> reporter: it is a government town here where people were forced out of their homes. people say there were no i.s.i.l. fighters there.

after militias took over they're denied back into their own areas. it's not the first time they have been accused of these. abuser s are wreaking havoc amongst vulnerable people. >> everyone here has a horror store. people here are afraid to go back to their homes. necessity want an international body like the united nations to guarantee their safety. >> reporter: rf is amongst those asking for guarantees and compensation. he said his city was under siege for a month and the iraqi turned a blind eye to abusers >> translation: we were surprised to see shia militia forces. when they came they started to krill indiscriminately. they destroyed our houses and burnt everything down. we travelled day and night without food or anything else. >> reporter: shia militias are

an important part of the fight against i.s.i.l. they denied the accusations against them. >> translation: for us, this issue is silly and has no affect on us. as we continue to make progress, we will get more accusations. we don't care about it. we expect it. >> reporter: the distrust and fear runs deep in this community and thousands who do ninety want to return come to terms with this in new homes around 2000 fighters and their families have begun leaving a refugee camp. fighters from the rival rev group al-nusra front are also leaving the camp. fighters have been given safe passage as part of the deal with the government. the aim is to make the move safe again so that people trapped there can receive aid. the camp has been under a

government siege since 2012. two african migrants have drowned trying to enter the spanish town on the border with morocco. hundreds of people tried to reach the enclave by swimming from the coast or climbing barbed wire fences. red cross volunteers tweeted 185 of the migrants who succeeded in getting into that territory. greece estimates they could spend half a billion dollars on the refugee crisis this year and most of this money is being reimbursed by the e.u. the real cost may come in the form of lost tourism. on the island of lesbos our correspondent reports. >> reporter: this refugee crisis has put this woman at the top. >> translation: in summer we made up to 2000 euros a day. now about 500.

before it was 50 a day. >> reporter: she is one outside one of several outside the refugee camp. here they can warm themselves by her stove, eat and recharge their cell phones. others too have centred on the opportunity. refugees and migrants have sent up a tent city with vendors supplying the hardware. those with money have moved into small hotels dotting the cost which would normally be closed in december. they breakfast with police and aid workers. in town they buy credit for cell phones. here too they can buy boat and bus tickets for their journey out of greece. the refugee windfall ask evident all over town. -- is evidence all over time. this may be a temporary replacement of the tourism industry that migration seems to have chased away. an industry greek islands spend decades building up. the hotels have suffered a 3.5%

drop. charter companies cut down. most expect a drop in business. >> translation: it depends on how visitors will react. will they come as volunteers to help? it will be positive. will they be put off by seeing sad things here then we will see a loss. >> reporter: there are fish costs. the e.u. defrays the government's migration costs. that's not always true for local government. >> translation: this month i won't pay all the salaries. the burden is enormous. the taxes paid by 90,000 people are covering the costs of 440,000 migrants arriving. >> reporter: there is no doubt that lesbos is seeing the losses and benefits of becoming a global refugee capital will at the end of the day people say it is the loss of life that touches them and that is the main reason they want refugee flows to ends

still to come on al jazeera. >> reporter: no place to call home. i'm adam rainy on a haitian border rickety but still running, a daily can commute in a georgian mining town.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. welcome back. a quick recap of the top stories here on al jazeera. one of syria's most powerful

rebel leaders has been killed in an air strike in damascus. his group is the largest rebel faction around the capital. the turkish military have bombed the south-eastern town as part of an 11-day operation against kurdish separatists. six kurdish fighters and one turkish soldier were killed in these attacks near the syrian border. greece estimates they could be spending more than half a billion dollars on refugee crisis this year. most of the money will be reimbursed by the e.u. bushfires in south-eastern australia have destroyed more than 100 homes. fire crews battled for hours on friday to control the flames at a popular tourist designation. more threats of fire remain >> reporter: an eerie silence

hang over australia's great ocean road. the route outside the city of melbourne is usually part. a tourist's magnet. it is off limit after bushfire swept through towns along the coast. overnight rains helped to get the 2200 hectare blaze under control, but the area is still not in the clear. >> this fire doesn't go away. this fire is a fire that will remain with potential to burn in january and february of this year. the forecast for a long drawn out summer is there. >> reporter: firefighters battle into the night on friday. water bombing aircraft were brought in, but the flames continued to engulf trees and homes. many residents and tourists spent their holidays at evacuation centers. >> they were all prepared to put in their barbeques on and all of a sudden they could see the smoke coming out of the hills. they thought this was still four

hours away. then loopholed it was an hour and then half an hour away >> reporter: australia is no stranger to bushfire. they strike every year in summer in the southern hemisphere and each time the losses are no less painful. gerald tann al jazeera the u.s. state of albe that as it may ahas-- alabam a has declared an emergency after storms swept through the region. several houses have been destroyed and power outs. 15 people have been killed. are ken saw and miss sip people -. 150,000 people have been left homeless. paraguay have been hit hard, parts of brazil, uraguay. >> reporter: severe flooding in the southern part of south america driving more than 150,000 people from their homes

and spending christmas looking for higher ground. in the city of concordia, north-east argentina, it has been called the worse flooding in a quarter of a century with the river flooding its banks. thousands were force. >> translation: the water level was in high inside my house. 20 or 30 centimetres was there. >> reporter: the nearby dam was nearing capacity as it tried to contain more flood waters. >> translation: above all the priority today is getting control of the situation, helping the 6,000 eau vacuum ewe eaus-- evacuees and containing areas. >> reporter: the state of emergency neighbouring paraguay has water nearly covered buildings. people were in shacks trying to support each other. >> translation: we already run from the water four times.

now we don't know where we will go. the water reached the places where we had escaped to. we're on the side of the road and the water keeps coming >> reporter: around the capital at one point more than 100,000 people were without power. the effects of the flooding reaching far and wide. >> translation: the situation is very bad. the children and also us, we're all sick. we've had diarrhoea. there is no medicine. >> reporter: the high rainfall in the region is due to an el nino weather pattern but few expected it to be this bad emergency teams in myanmar are trying to find mine workers who have been buried after a land slide. it happened in the remote northern town where there are several jade mines. a similar incident in the same town last month killed more than 100 people. dozens of people have been injured after a 6.2 magnitude

earthquake hit northern afghanistan. shock ways were felt in kabul. top diplomats from india and pakistan are due to hold talks next month. it has been set up by prime ministers of both countries. on friday the prime ministers met in a surprise visit. it was the first trip by an indian leader in more than a decade. as the end of 2015 approaches, al jazeera are looking back through the eyes of five maims whose lives bona fide than affected by some of the year's most impactful events. that includes the war in syria which forced over one million people to seek refuge in neighbouring turkey. an elderly couple spoke to bernard smith. >> reporter: just 50 kilometres

from this church in turkey across the border to syria open christian wore ship is now impossible. worship. there there i.s.i.l. is in control. so this family fled seeking refuge with a small community of necessarily owe christians. his wife is bed ridden. getting treatment is hard in a country where they don't speak the language. >> translation: when we came to turkey, we stayed in the monostry for nearly four months. it was too crowded with refugees so they put us here, gaich us blankets, pillows, a fridge, everything we need. >> reporter: like millions of syrians of all faith, their lives have been torn apart by syria's civil war. with work in turkey, two of their sons have gone to europe.

>> translation: would we were working here. it was not much for all. we sold our home and used the money to spend the boys to europe. >> translation: every day just 15 lira how can you live on that? >> translation: somewhere; but we're not sure where >> reporter: too sick to get to church, priests now comes to them. >> translation: i used to walk a little, but now it's difficult. now all i can do is go to the bathroom and back with this frame. there's only us. we have no friends here and no name >> reporter:-- family. >> reporter: they face a retirement dependent on charity. >> translation: we want to go back to our life as it was

before, but it is hard. >> translation: believe me, there is no place in the all world better than syria. rich or poor, everybody had a life. there was work. now syria is destroyed. >> reporter: but still he says he prays that next year he will be able to take his family back to a peaceful syria in the next part of the series the struggle on. catherine soi talks to a family in kenya. that is coming up at 1500 gmt. thousands of haitians forced to leave are battling a cholera outbreak in their camp. it was reported in a clamp down on migrants. going back to the camp our correspondent found conditions have worsened.

>> reporter: close quarters here. six months after fleeing or being deported from the dominican republic they have not received help from any country. hungry and penniless wait for help. they keep their spirits. many are weakened after being struck by cholera. >> translation: i was vomiting, i had dire ear. i went to the incline-- diarrhoea. i feel weak when i walk, even slowly. >> reporter: he like many here is more fluent in spanish. he was born in the dominican republic. he left a home and horse behind. here he has nothing. he showed me an meagre packet of rice that the local priest sometimes gives him to eat.

there was a crack down on workers here who had no documentation. some here say they feared for their lives and came here on their own. others say they were deported. >> things were bleaker at this camp now than when we visited in july. nine people have died from the illness alone here in this camp. people say they sleep in the dirt, they breathe in dust, they have little to eat and drink, but there are signs that people keep showing up every day. >> reporter: this woman survived cholera. alone here her son and husband are back in the dominican republic. >> translation: i hope the government helps me move to a better place. that's what i'm asking god for. >> reporter: the camp is known as park garvo, or gift park. there was no signs of presents,

though, on christmas. a water filter supplied by the haitin government arrived just a day ago. >> we arrived here july. why did it take six months to bring water? >> translation: we thought this was temporary. now we have to do something. >> reporter: other projects like a reception center on the border have been promised but so far have not been built. back in the camp, cleaner water should arrive soon, but what people are really looking for is a way out of here. adam rayney both one of the olders cable car systems in the world and the mining town in northern georgia still using the original cars to carry commuters in and out of the city center. our correspondent took what some believe is a dangerous ride. >> reporter: this is the daily commute in what are little more

than rusting boxes suspended from steel ropes. it is not for the faint hearted. >> translation: i would be delighted to go with you, but i'm afraid. >> reporter: for those who live above the city, it is the obvious choice. >> translation: you just need two minutes to come here by cable car, but the bus takes an hour at least. >> reporter: she has been operating cable cars for the past 17 years >> translation: it's the fastest and most comfortable transport. >> reporter: manganese was found and this was formed to ferry workers. it no longer resembles a utopia,

but the cable car still operates and the rides are free for everyone. it is the public transport for this city and this was built-in 1952. it has been running since then 24/7. she keeps them running with a lot of oil and an unshakeable faith in a system that was built to last. >> translation: i think the machinery will outlive me because it is motel and it will work tomorrow and i'm human. i might die tomorrow. >> reporter: this area has been promised a new network of cable cars. until then, it will depend on soviet engineering imagine someone dialling your number by mistake from outer space. that's what british astronaut did, tim peake.

he apologised. he says he asked her if he had reached planet earth was not a frank. he called his parents to wish them a merry christmas. he had to leave a voice mail because they weren't home. keep it here on al jazeera. on "america tonight" the mother church. >> this is the fist catholic cathedral in the united states, so every catholic church throughout the united states are daughters of this church. >> adam may on the baltimore beauty hidden by history but resurrected for the faithful. down to earth. >> is this what the pope should be talking about? >> he has no choice but to speak out on that. >> in the heart of coal country, what does it mean when the pope speaks of heaven and earth?