Assad fled Syria following a lightning offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) earlier this month.

He left behind a country scarred by decades of “torture, disappearances and summary executions”, and the collapse of his rule on December 8 stunned the world and sparked celebrations around Syria and beyond.

Years of war have also left the country heavily dependent on aid, deeply fragmented and desperate for justice and peace.

Addressing reporters in Damascus, UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said “there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria”.

“A new Syria that… will adopt a new constitution… and that we will have free and fair elections when that time comes, after a transitional period,” he added.

Calling for immediate humanitarian assistance, he also stated he hoped to see an end to international sanctions levied against Syria over Assad’s abuses.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher also called for a massive aid boost by donor countries to respond to “this moment of hope” for Syria.

“Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now,” Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.

Pedersen noted a key challenge was the situation in Kurdish-held areas in Syria’s northeast, amid fears of a major escalation between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey-backed groups.

Turkey accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants at home, whom both Washington and Ankara consider a “terrorist” group.

The United States announced Tuesday it had brokered an extension to a fragile ceasefire in the flashpoint town of Manbij and was seeking a broader understanding with Turkey.

But later on Wednesday, a Syria war monitor claimed 21 pro-Turkey fighters had been killed after they attacked a Kurdish-held position near Manbij despite the ceasefire extension.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later warned Syria’s new rulers to address the issue of Kurdish forces in the country.

He was responding to a question on Al Jazeera about rumours that Turkey could launch an offensive on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.

“There is a new administration in Damascus now. I think, this is primarily their concern now,” he said.

“So, I think if they are going to, if they address this issue properly, so there would be no reason for us to intervene,” Fidan added.

He rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that the ouster of Assad amounted to an “unfriendly takeover” of Syria by Ankara.

Rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and proscribed as a terrorist organisation by several Western governments, HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric by assuring protection for the country’s many religious and ethnic minorities.

It has appointed a transitional leadership that will run the country until March 1.

Fidan stressed in his interview that it was time for the international community to take HTS off its terror watchlists.

HTS has vowed justice for the crimes committed under Assad’s rule, including the disappearance of tens of thousands of people into the complex web of detention centres and prisons that was used for decades to silence dissent.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 100,000 people died or were killed in custody from 2011.

The first commercial flight in Syria since the toppling of al-Assad earlier this month has taken off from Damascus airport.

The flight landed in Aleppo, in the country’s north, on Wednesday with 43 people on board including a group of journalists.

Pro-Assad forces abandoned the airport in the capital on December 8 as opposition fighters closed in on the city following a lightning offensive that began on November 27. Since then, no flights had taken off or landed due to security reasons.

Earlier this week, airport staff painted the pro-opposition three-star flag on aeroplanes, a symbol of the 2011 uprising now adopted by the transitional authorities. Inside the terminal, the new flag has also replaced the one associated with the government of al-Assad, who fled to Russia.

An airport official told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that international flights would resume on December 24, following maintenance work.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Jordan has reopened the Jaber border crossing with for trade, resuming the flow of goods and freight traffic between the two countries.

More than 13 years after a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests morphed into a multisided war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, Syria is struggling to get back on its feet as it comes to terms with the scars of torture, disappearances and summary executions.

The group at the helm of Syria’s new ruling coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has sought to keep its institutions going and kickstart its economy. Once rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda and designated a “terrorist” organisation by several Western governments, HTS has softened its rhetoric and pledged to protect the nation’s diverse religious and ethnic communities.

While the new caretaker administration in Damascus has set out few details on its thinking for the next steps for the country, newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated government in Idlib province, has said he will remain in office until March.

On Wednesday, a day after meeting HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, United Nations Special Envoy Geir Pedersen called for “free and fair elections” in Syria after the transition and urgent humanitarian assistance for the country.

Pedersen, who on Tuesday warned that the war has not yet ended, told reporters in Damascus that “there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria”.

He also expressed hope for a “political solution” in the Kurdish-held northeast, where the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are battling Turkish-backed groups who have captured several Kurdish towns since the offensive began in the rest of the country last month.

Speaking to AFP, HTS military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra said Kurdish-held areas would be integrated under the country’s new leadership, adding that the group rejects federalism and that “Syria will not be divided”.

“The Kurdish people are one of the components of the Syrian people … Syria will not be divided and there will be no federal entities,” he continued.

Abu Qasra, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamawi, also said the group would be “the first” to dissolve its armed wing and integrate into the armed forces.

Meanwhile, Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition that grouped opponents of al-Assad during the war, stated on Wednesday that Syria’s transitional government should be credible and not exclude any Syrian party or be based on sectarianism.

The Turkiye-based Syrian National Coalition would return to Syria and set up headquarters there, al-Bahra told journalists at a news briefing, adding that he intended to return as well.

“Logistics should be worked out and freedom of speech should be guaranteed,” he added.

His comments came a day after members of the UN Security Council in a statement called for the implementation of “an inclusive and Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process” that they said should meet the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians, protect all of them and “enable them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine their own futures”.

The 15-member body also emphasised battling “terrorism” across the country, stressing that Syria must abide by council resolutions on non-conventional weapons and reiterating support for UN peacekeepers and the inviolability of diplomatic premises.