The Syrian government has been under strict sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years.

Foreign countries stepped up efforts Sunday to establish contacts with Syria's interim rulers, a week after Islamist-led rebels sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Moscow, ending decades of brutal rule.

It is an open question whether these rebels can scale up what they achieved in Idlib, a poor, agrarian region with a relatively small population, throughout most of Syria. The alliance said it would grant an amnesty for lower-level government workers and soldiers,