G7 leaders will attempt Friday to forge a common approach to the new government of Syria, which has pledged to protect the rule of law after years of abuses under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought a sudden end to five decades of repressive rule by his clan.
The collapse of Assad's administration closes an era in which suspected dissidents were jailed or killed, and caps nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.
It has allowed Syrians to flood to prisons, hospitals and morgues in search of long-disappeared loved ones, hoping for a miracle, or at least closure.
"I turned the world upside down looking," Abu Mohammed told AFP as he searched for news of three missing relatives at the Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus.
"But I didn't find anything at all. We just want a hint of where they were, one percent."
Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda and designated a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, who now face the challenge of how to approach the country's new transitional leadership.
The group has sought to moderate its rhetoric, and the interim government insists the rights of all Syrians will be protected.
"We respect religious and cultural diversity in Syria," government spokesman Obaida Arnaout told AFP on Thursday.
He said the country's constitution and parliament would be suspended during a three-month transition.
"A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments," he said, pledging that "rule of law" would be instituted.
"All those who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be judged in accordance with the law," he added.
Leaders of the Group of Seven democratic powers, who will meet virtually at 1430 GMT Friday, said they were ready to support the transition to an "inclusive and non-sectarian" government in Syria.
Kurdish fears
Assad's ouster has given Turkey a golden opportunity to move against US-allied Kurdish forces that it sees as a major security threat, analysts say.
As the Islamist-led rebels marched on Damascus, Turkish-backed fighters began pushing into Kurdish-held areas. The fighting left at least 218 dead before a US-brokered ceasefire started Wednesday.
The semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that controls much of northeast Syria has adopted the opposition's independence flag, but some Kurdish civilians acknowledged fears for the future of the country.
"We, the Kurds, as the second-largest ethnic group in this country, want it to be a federal state, not a dictatorship," said Khorshed Abo Rasho in Qamishli.
Jordan will host a Syria crisis summit on Saturday with foreign ministers from numerous Western and Arab nations as well as Turkey.
By Maher Al Mounes with Jonathan Sawaya, AFP
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