Dateline’s Yaara Bou Melhem is smuggled into the world of the Free Syrian Army to get exclusive access to the battle for control of the country.

Under military protection in Turkey and normally off limits to journalists, the leader of the Free Syrian Army gives Yaara a rare interview.

How does Colonel Riad al-Asaad think he can win the battle against the Assad regime? And what of accusations that Al-Qaeda is fighting alongside his soldiers?

In the dead of night, the rebels take Yaara across the border into Syria, where she becomes the first journalist to film in the secret labyrinth of caves and tunnels used by the rebel fighters.

Inside the country, life is far from normal; a look inside a secret weapons-making factory provides a fascinating insight into the rebels’ battle to take control.

See Yaara’s exclusive report, which subsequently won a United Nations Australia Media Peace Award and was nominated for a Walkley Award in 2012.