The city on the Euphrates, once a cradle of civilization, suffered under a succession of recent rulers. Our visit found it hoping for change.

“We just want to be back in our homes,” said a Lebanese man who, like many others in the latest round of fighting, has to flee.

A German court found that the attacker, now age 20, had traveled more than 100 miles to stab a Spanish tourist, who survived.

“I felt great fear and I ran,” says one of thousands of Syrians who are leaving what had been a relatively safe refuge during the war in Syria.