Aleppo, Syria - Recent Residents in Syria's second-largest city Aleppo are seeing their lives start to return to normal after the fall of the Assad government, focusing on the availability of basic services and hoping for a better future despite the uncertainty ahead. Syrian armed opposition forces, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), seized control of Damascus on Dec 8, ending over five decades of the Assad family rule. The rapid change of political landscape in Syria sparked uncertainty about the country's future. Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, Aleppo, which was considered the economic engine of the country, has faced great difficulties with a major shortage of basic services such as electricity and water. Some Syrians believe that it will take time for the situation to improve but remain positive about the future. Some locals expressed concern over the shortage of basic supplies and the fluctuating cost of living. Despite issues with water and power supply, some locals in Aleppo consider the current situation to be acceptable. The situation in Syria has undergone a dramatic shift in recent days. Mohammed al-Bashir, head of the "Syrian Salvation Government" in Idlib formed in 2017 by the HTS and other Syrian militant groups during the Syrian civil war, announced on Dec 10 that he has been tasked with heading a transitional government in Syria until early March 2025. Shotlist: Aleppo, Syria - Recent: 1. People outside Citadel of Aleppo; 2. Street view, pedestrians; 3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aleppo resident (name not given): "Talking about the subjects of humanitarian and services and day-to-day needs is premature because it has been a short time since we got rid of the previous government. But we are optimistic about the coming days, and there is a popular desire to change the current reality to a better future."; 4. Various of fruit stalls, vendors; 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aleppo resident (name not given): "The difficulties are many and cannot be counted, which is the availability of basic necessities that were denied to us and were not given enough attention (to its quality), such as bread, gas, mazut (fuel oil), water, even heating and transport and other things we were denied of."; 6. Various of street views, pedestrians; 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aleppo resident (name not given): "The prices are somehow at average. There is an increase in vegetable prices and a decrease in fruit prices. We have not had water for three days. This is the fourth day without water. Today, we were given electricity. There is a decrease in prices and availability of bread, but domestic cooking gas prices have increased, and mazut (fuel oil) is not available."; 8. Various of street views, pedestrians; 9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aleppo resident (name not given) (partially overlaid with shot 10): "The situation is a little better than before, but the traders are not merciful to us. The electricity providers with private generators are not merciful to anyone. The price of an ampere is 100,000 lira (about seven U.S. dollars), and we have been out of work for a while. Electricity and water pose problems, but things are good overall."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 10. Street view; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 11. Various of street views, traffic, fruit stalls; 12. People outside Citadel of Aleppo. [Restriction - No Access Chinese Mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/ Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/ Al-Arabiya TV]