The reckoning that could break Syria

People walking near destroyed buildings in Tadamon. Residents hoped the new government would collect the bones and exhume the bodies buried in mass graves underfoot. — Emile Ducke/The New York Times

CHILDREN in dusty clothes played in the rubble in Damascus’ Tadamon neighbourhood, searching for human remains as if they were scouting for seashells on a sandy shore.

“This is a rib bone,” declared an eager young boy in sandals, holding it aloft. Another child pulled at what appeared to be a femur with his right hand while holding another bone in his left.