Between rubble and river

A family on a street where they often sleep, outside of their heavily damaged home in Deir al-Zour, Syria, Aug. 20, 2025. Battered by years of bombing and shelling during Syria’s 13-year civil war, Deir al-Zour remains a front line, even as its people struggle to rebuild. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

AS a red sun dropped to the desert horizon, children shouted and splashed in the Euphrates River while their families picnicked in the shallows.

Carefree evenings have returned to many parts of Syria, but not for the people of Deir al-Zour, a desert city in the east near the Iraqi border, where peace is still elusive.