Syria's new Islamist rulers kicked off a long-awaited national dialogue conference on Tuesday as a “rare historical opportunity” to rebuild the country after the fall of former President Bashar Assad and nearly 14 years of civil war.

Syria has a "historic opportunity" to build itself anew, its interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Tuesday, addressing a national dialogue summit billed by Syria's Islamist rulers as a key milestone after decades of Assad-family rule.

Although the conference was called to chart the country’s future, the Kurdish-led militia that controls much of Syria’s northeast was not invited.