The UN human rights office will send a small team of human rights officers to Syria next week for the first time in years following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, UN spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan told a press briefing on Friday.

As part of the takeover, rebels have flung open prisons and government offices and raising fresh hopes for accountability for crimes committed during Syria’s more than 13-year civil war.

Under Assad, the UN human rights team has not been allowed in Syria for years, al-Kheetan said, and has been monitoring abuses remotely.

He said that the team would support human rights issues and help ensure that any power transition is “inclusive and within the framework of international law”. “It is important for us to start establishing a presence,” he said.

A UN investigative body also hopes to travel to Syria to secure evidence that could implicate top officials of the former government.