It was the first commercial flight from Syria since long-time president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown earlier this month has taken off Depart from Damascus Airport.

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

On December 8, pro-Assad forces abandoned the capital’s airport as rebel fighters closed in on the city following a lightning offensive that began on November 27. Since then, no flights have taken off or landed due to safety reasons.

Earlier this week, airport staff painted planes with the pro-opposition three-star flag, a symbol of the 2011 uprising that has been adopted by transitional authorities. Inside the terminal, new flags also replaced those associated with Assad’s government, which fled to Russia.

An airport official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that international flights would resume on December 24 as maintenance work is completed.

Meanwhile, neighboring Jordan has reopened the Jaber crossing for trade, resuming the movement of goods and freight between the two countries.

Syria is struggling to recover as it faces the scars of more than 13 years of a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests that turned into a multi-front war that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. torture, Disappearance and Summary execution.

Those at the helm of Syria’s new ruling coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have been seeking to keep their institutions functioning and jump-start their economy. HTS, once rooted in Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate and designated a “terrorist” group by multiple Western governments, has softened its rhetoric and pledged to protect the country’s diverse religious and ethnic communities.

Although the reformed caretaker government in Damascus has not elaborated on the country’s next steps, newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who previously led the HTS-affiliated government in Idlib province, has said he will remain in office. Office until March.

“Free and fair elections”

UN envoy Geir Pedersen called on Syria to hold “free and fair elections” after the transition and for emergency humanitarian aid to be provided to the country on Wednesday, a day after meeting HTS leader Ahmed Salad in Damascus.

Pederson Tuesday warn The war is not over yet, he told reporters in Damascus, and “we now see with great hope the beginning of a new Syria.”

He also expressed hope for a “political solution” in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, where the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are fighting Turkish-backed groups that have been attacked since Syria launched its offensive Several Kurdish towns have been captured. other parts of the country last month.

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

“The Kurds are one of the integral parts of the Syrian people…Syria will not be divided and there will be no federal entity,” he said.

Abu Kasra (alias Abu Hassan al-Hamawi) also said the group would be “the first” to disband its armed factions and merge them into the armed forces.

Meanwhile, Hadi Bahla, head of the Syrian National Coalition, which has rallied Assad’s opposition during the war, said on Wednesday that Syria’s transitional government should be credible and not exclude any Syrian political party or be based on sectarianism.

Bahra told reporters at a news conference that the Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition would return to Syria and set up its headquarters there, adding that he also intended to return.

“Logistical issues should be worked out and freedom of expression guaranteed,” he added.

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

The 15-member body also emphasized the nationwide fight against “terrorism”, emphasized Syria’s need to comply with Security Council resolutions on unconventional weapons, and reiterated support for U.N. peacekeepers and the inviolability of diplomatic premises.