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Assad Regime Reasserts Control in Syria's Former Rebel Strongholds
(Wall Street Journal) Raja Abdulrahim - President Assad's forces are asserting the government's grip over the former rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta. The last of the rebels surrendered and withdrew from Ghouta in April in the wake of a suspected chemical-weapons attack. Now, photos of Assad are plastered on walls, while the few open shops have painted the colors of the national flag on their storefronts. The regime is arresting some of those who stayed behind, including former members of local town councils who are seen as affiliated with the opposition. The arrests run counter to guarantees Russia made when it negotiated the surrender deals. Meanwhile, thousands of young men have been detained and forced to join the regime's forces after being told it was the only way they would be allowed to leave camps for internally displaced people.