General
Thursday Briefing: The Struggle to Create Order in Syria
Plus, China’s surprising box office hit.
A defaced portrait of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday.Credit…Nicole Tung for The New York Times
Revenge shadows efforts to restore order in Syria
The leader of the rebel force that overthrew Bashar al-Assad called on other countries to hand over any “criminals” who had fled Syria so they could be held accountable for the torture or killing of prisoners under al-Assad.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the comments were directed at Russia, which invited al-Assad and his family to seek exile there.
The remarks by Ahmed al-Shara, leader of the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, came as a war monitor said that armed groups had carried out retaliatory attacks on civilians in areas that were once considered loyal to Assad.
It may be a struggle forthe onetime rebels to uphold the rule of law while managing the fierce desire for retribution against members of the Assad regime, which ruled the country with an iron fist for decades.
Truce in Manbij: Kurdish-led fighters backed by the U.S. said that they had agreed to a U.S.-brokered cease-fire in the city of Manbij in northern Syria, where they have been battling forces backed by Turkey.
Tour Assad’s former palace: Rebels allowed Ben Hubbard, a New York Times correspondent, and a photographer to explore the presidential palace.
