Signs of normalcy are starting to return a week after life inside Syria was upended as rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. As the country’s new leaders begin to chart a path forward, the UN envoy to Syria called for a quick end to sanctions imposed by the West. Special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen reports from Aleppo.

John Yang:

Good evening. I'm John Yang. Today, a week after life inside Syria was upended as rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad's regime, there were flickering signs of normalcy. Syrian Christians attended regular Sunday services and schools reopened.

Now, as the country's new leaders begin to chart a path forward, the U.N. envoy to Syria says the lightning offensive should be followed by a quick end to the sanctions the west imposed after Assad crushed the Arab Spring anti-government protests more than a decade ago. Leila Molana-Allen is in Aleppo tonight. Leila, you've spent this past week traveling all around Syria. What have you been seeing? What have you been hearing?

Leila Molana-Allen:

I have, John. In the last few days, I've essentially followed the path backwards that HTS and the other rebel groups swept down through across Syria. So I started in Damascus and then I moved up to the cities of Homs and Hama into the second biggest city in the country, Aleppo, and then today up into what were the rubble held areas of the country in the northwest. But of course, much of the country is now rubble held, so they can't be called that anymore.

One of the strangest things, of course, is that it doesn't feel strange. If you didn't know that just over a week ago there would be checkpoints everywhere along these roads. Most people could not move freely. People would be asked for ID cards, would be harassed, would often be detained for trying to cross into different areas.

People in regime held Syria and in the northwest had different ID cards. There were different selling networks. Everything was divided. And suddenly now these roads are free and open. So movement is the first thing that's functioning very well.

Beyond that, services are really struggling. Syria has already been struggling for years with issues like connectivity, with, like being able to get enough diesel and petrol in. There's very little petrol available on the streets. People are watering down petrol and selling it in canisters on the side of the road or smuggling in from Lebanon. There are huge electricity problems, particularly in the north where we are in Aleppo. There are constant power cuts, and it's even worse out in the more rural areas.

There are a lot of issues with the roads as well over the years, of course, because these roads haven't been used very much, except often for tanks and other military vehicles which have torn them up. They are in terrible disarray. And now there are thousands of people crossing the country using them. So that's a really big problem. And now people are gradually trying to start the process of putting their lives back together in this country, so figuring out where they're going to live. So many people live in displacement camps within their own country. They're trying to figure out where they're going to go now.

John Yang:

Leila, the Syrians are happy that the what's past is gone, but what about what's to come? How do they feel about the rebels who are now in charge?

Leila Molana-Allen:

Well, there have been great concerns, of course, that Syria could be trading one oppressive regime for another. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is the group leading the rebels that have now taken over the majority of the country, is a designated terror organization by the West.

In 2015, a group called Jabhat Al-Nusra that was linked to both Al Qaeda and ISIS turned into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and they are an Islamist fundamentalist group. However, in recent years, their leader, Ahmad al-Shara, he has dropped his jihadi name. He's now going by the name of Ahmad Al Shara. He has taken off what many would consider to be traditional jihadi dress and instead dresses in a military style.

And he's made great promises that the country will be liberal and that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has decided on liberal policies will not make women veil themselves, will not make people abide by Islamist principles, and most importantly, of course, will respect the many minorities in Syria, many of whom eventually supported Assad during this war because they felt that he would protect them.

So now people are looking to see whether that's, in fact, the truth. Currently, HTS fighters out on the streets, as well as the other rebel groups that are along with them, are being very benign. There are a form of checkpoints. They say they're standing around on the highways for security, but they largely wave cars through without any concern. Once they've seen who's inside, they're being extremely friendly with people in different cities. They're hugging babies. They're greeting women who are out on the street.

So the mood is very positive. They're certainly being very liberal with the press as well, and allowing the press to go wherever they want and see whatever they want.

Of course, right now, that's in their interest, because largely what journalists in this country are uncovering is the years of systematic abuse of civilians that the Assad regime carried out, which is what HTS and the rebels want them to see.

The question is in the future whether this continues. And one of the most pressing issues is that people here want Western countries to recognize this government, this salvation government is what it's called, which was running in Idlib and now has spread to the rest of the country quickly, because otherwise they feel that if they don't lift sanctions, if they don't support this government, perhaps it will turn to a less positive and liberal mood.

Now, the people running the country right now, Ahmad al-Shara, who is the main commander of HTS, and he's the man in charge of the country right now, has assigned Mohammed al-Bashir to run a caretaker government till March 1, really just to get basic services going. Sewage roads again, get petrol in, get electricity running, get the Internet running.

Beyond that, though, if HTS decides it isn't going to allow other groups into a new government. That's where the problems may start.

John Yang:

Leila Molana-Allen in Aleppo tonight. Thanks very much.

Leila Molana-Allen:

Thank you, John.