'We're all Syrians': Soldiers hand in weapons, hope for quiet lives

"I don't like the army, I want to get back on track with my life without anyone to give me orders," the 28-year-old told AFP. He spent nine years in the army, posted to the capital Damascus, and said he was now happy to be back in his home city of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast. Latakia is located in the heartland of former president Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, and Merhej was among several hundred servicemen waiting to register with the country's new rulers. Assad was ousted after a lightning...