He had spent the day with the leaders of Syria’s myriad armed factions, trying to persuade them to disband. Over seven weeks after the fall of Damascus, the fate of these groups is still uncertain.
Following an audience with the Queen, on day three of his visit to Britain, Mr Assad was meeting the Prince of Wales as well as opposition leaders Iain Duncan Smith and Charles Kennedy.
“We were all Assad’s oppressed,” explains the local imam. Such scenes are encouraging as observers ponder what kind of Syria Mr Sharaa and his men will forge. If Mr Sharaa revives Islam’s ...