The U.N. organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria says the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus — and it is preparing to deploy.

Rebels have thrown open the doors to some of the most notorious prisons in Syria following the fall of the regime - leading to increasing calls to prosecute people responsible for possible war crimes.

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Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and his years-long regime have fallen, but the country remains a battleground for an array of actors seeking to secure interests in what may emerge to be a dangerous power vacuum.