United States diplomats are in Syria to meet the country’s new Islamist-led rulers, the State Department said Friday, as foreign nations seek assurances that they will be moderate and inclusive in governance.

The ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad ended decades of abuses and years of civil war. Still, it has raised concerns about the rights of minorities, as well as women, and the future of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

On Thursday, hundreds of demonstrators in Damascus demanded democracy and women’s rights, in the first such protest since Assad’s departure.

In northeast Syria’s Qamishli, thousands demonstrated in support of a US-backed, Kurdish-led force that is under pressure from Turkey and allied rebel fighters.

The lightning offensive that forced Assad’s departure was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch but has more recently adopted a moderate tone.

Still, its sudden arrival in the capital has left foreign governments scrambling for a new policy, particularly in some countries where HTS is designated a terrorist group.

US diplomats have not been to Damascus on a formal mission since the early days of the civil war that erupted after Assad cracked down on anti-government protests in 2011.

They will meet representatives from HTS, which Washington deems a terrorist group, as well as activists, minority groups and civil society, the State Department said.

A State Department spokesperson said they will speak with Syrians about “their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them. ”

The delegation includes the US point man on hostages, who has been seeking clues on missing Americans including Austin Tice, a journalist who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.

The trip comes a week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had been in direct contact with HTS, as he toured Syria’s neighbours.

At talks in the Jordanian resort of Aqaba, Western and Arab powers as well as Turkey jointly called Saturday for an “inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government” that respects the rights of all of Syria’s diverse communities.

That call was echoed at talks in Cairo on Thursday by countries including Turkey and Iran, which backed different sides in Syria’s civil war.

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