We’re in Latakia, riding with security forces just 10 days after the collapse of the Syrian government led by former President Bashar al-Assad. They tell us one of their missions here is trying to find and arrest members of the old regime. The greater goal, they say, is to secure a city that until recently was an Assad family stronghold. We wanted to see whether they would do it differently from their predecessors. We arrive at a house belonging to a former Syrian Army officer. Only he isn’t the one being arrested. These two suspects in custody are former rebel fighters. They are, in theory, allies, part of a coalition of groups that joined forces to overthrow the Assad regime. They’ve been targeting Assad’s army for years, but today it’s landed them in trouble. We go inside to find out what happened. Throughout our time with this security unit, they insisted on their commitment to due process, even if it means helping a former enemy. The two fighters accused of looting are brought back to base, to a complex which was previously the military security headquarters here under Assad. Our guides were eager to call attention to the legacy of the Assad government, one of systemic repression, brutality and torture. Just down the hall, the arrested fighters are about to become prisoners here too. Despite efforts to contrast themselves with the old regime, questions remain about whether new leadership can deliver a more equitable system of justice in a Syria grappling with the ghosts of its past.

Until recently, these men were at war with the Syrian government. Now, they’re manning checkpoints across the capital. They’re former fighters for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or H.T.S. The Islamist group, once an Al Qaeda affiliate, overthrew the government of Bashar al-Assad in early December. After 13 years of civil war, restoring security is one of the top priorities for H.T.S. The group has installed people like Basel al-Helal, a former rebel, to head the police in Damascus. The fighters turned police now control traffic and are trying to return property that was looted during the recent government overthrow. They also say their mission is to conduct raids to apprehend drug dealers, thieves and former government officials. Before ousting al-Assad, H.T.S. ran a local government in a part of northern Syria that it controlled. There, it was accused of rights abuses, including the jailing of critics. This has some people worried. They are concerned about how H.T.S. will govern now that it controls a much larger and more diverse part of the country. These H.T.S. fighters say concerns about them are misplaced.