Syrians mark a month since the overthrow of al-Assad with a concert in the capital Syrian War News

Thousands attended a concert in Damascus to mark the end of the rule of the al-Assad family and nearly 14 years of civil war.

It’s been a month since Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power, ending more than five decades of his family’s rule in Syria and nearly 14 years of civil war. Al-Assad fled to Russia on December 8 and has not been seen since.

On Wednesday night, thousands attended a concert in the capital Damascus to celebrate the uprising, a day some Syrians thought would never come.

Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera news editor, James Bays, said people gathered at a basketball center in the center of the city to attend a celebration concert, marking one month of calm and stability.

“There is a real sense of joy here one month after the fall of al-Assad,” he said.

“Outside this stadium you have a big plaque of al-Assad but now you can see his hair and forehead. Some of everything has been taken away as his kingdom, his army and all the resources … were taken one month ago,” he added.

Bays said that the proceeds from the concert will go to prominent NGOs, including the White Helmets – a security force that worked during the al-Assad regime to rescue people from the rubble during bombings by the Syrian army and the Russians.

In Damascus, many Syrians were also looking forward to a new country. “I hope that the future will be better. There was no life under al-Assad. We were afraid of him and his army,” Nada Daye, a Syrian citizen, told Al Jazeera.

Mamoun Nahlawi, who owns a bookstore, said that the economy should be opened now after many years of the United States and other Western countries. “The sanctions must be ended. Otherwise people will not see a good result. People have been humiliated under al-Assad,” he told Al Jazeera.

Syria is one of the most sanctioned countries in the world and the country’s new administration, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, is trying to change that. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, focusing on this issue.

Reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said the UNSC forced the lifting of the sanctions at the meeting.

Geir Pedersen, the UN’s special envoy for Syria, also told the UNSC meeting that “working on an inclusive political transition” will help ensure that Syria “immediately receives the much-needed economic support, which requires an end to sanctions”.

Elizondo noted that Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs at the UN, also told the UNSC that sanctions should not hinder humanitarian support in the country.

In the coming weeks, a national conference to discuss Syria’s democratic transition is expected to begin.

Meanwhile, US officials have begun talks with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates about easing financial restrictions on Damascus, as long as the new government cuts ties with Russia and Iran, and provides political stability.