Christians in Syria mark country’s transformation with tears as UN envoy urges an end to sanctions

In churches across long-stifled Syria, Christians marked the first Sunday services since Bashar Assad's ouster in an air of transformation.

In churches across long-stifled Syria, Christians marked the first Sunday services since Bashar Assad’s ouster in an air of transformation. Some worshippers were in tears. Others clasped their hands in prayer.

“They are promising us that government will be formed soon and, God willing, things will become better because we got rid of the tyrant,” said one worshipper, Jihad Raffoul.

“Today, our prayers are for a new page in Syria’s future,” said another, Suzan Barakat.

To help those efforts, the U.N. envoy for Syria called for a quick end to Western sanctions as the country’s new leaders and regional and global powers discuss the way forward.

Syria has been under sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.

The rebel alliance that ousted Assad and sent him into exile in Russia a week ago faces a nation deeply isolated by the sanctions, which compounded Syria’s economic troubles.

But other challenges also complicate rebuilding. The new transitional leadership has not laid out a clear vision of how the country will be governed, and the main group behind the offensive remains designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., which nevertheless has begun making direct contact with it.

The U.N. envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, told reporters in Damascus that the rebels’ stunningly fast offensive should be followed by a rapid international response.