Damascus  -  G7 leaders will attempt Friday to forge a common approach to the new government of Syria, which has pledged to protect the rule of law after years of abuses under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought a sudden end to five decades of repressive rule by his clan. The collapse of Assad’s administration closes an era in which suspected dissidents were jailed or killed, and caps nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

It has allowed Syrians to flood to prisons, hospitals and morgues in search of long-disappeared loved ones, hoping for a miracle, or at least closure.

“I turned the world upside down looking,” Abu Mohammed told AFP as he searched for news of three missing relatives at the Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus.

“But I didn’t find anything at all. We just want a hint of where they were, one percent.”