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U.N. Special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen's visit to Saydnaya prison was met with anger by the relatives of the detainees. The special envoy called for "justice and accountability" in the country, rather than acts of revenge following the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad. Assad fled Syria last weekend following an 11-day rebel offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), bringing to a dramatic end to the 54 years of brutal Assad clan rule. According to Pedersen, "the change that we're now seeing after the fall of the Assad regime has just been immense, and of course that change in itself creates great hopes." The UN envoy, who was due to meet with officials from Syria's transitional government, urged a "political process... that is inclusive of all Syrians". The UN envoy mentioned "the whole question about economic recovery", saying that "we need to see that this is fixed quickly. We will hopefully see a quick end to sanctions, so that we can see really a rallying around building up Syria again." He also urged a humanitarian aid boost to support Syrians.