His wife had left for work, and a fault in their door frame made it difficult to latch.

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He is one of hundreds of thousands of Arabic-speaking Turkish Alawis, most living near the Syrian border, and fears the sectarian conflict next door could open the same fault lines in Turkey especially as relations between the two former allies become increasingly hostile.

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Now, they want to give him a freer hand, which is welcome, though it comes with a sting: if he now fails, all the fault can be laid at his door.

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