FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold the Syrian opposition flag as they gather during a protest against Arab normalization with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the Arab League's reintegration of Syria, in the rebel-held city of Azaz, Syria May 19, 2023. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
DAMASCUS/ATMEH, Syria (Reuters) - As some Syrians welcomed President Bashar al-Assad's return to the Arab League on Friday, others expressed dismay that Arab states had welcomed back a leader they blame for death and destruction during 12 years of brutal civil war.
The diverging views reflect deep splits in a nation shattered by the conflict that has killed more than 350,000 people, with swathes of territory still held by rebels opposed to Assad even as Arab states bring him in from the cold.
