Syrian singer Ishtar halted concerts when Islamist-led forces seized power nearly six months ago. She's now back on stage, but lingering fears have reshaped Damascus's nightlife scene.

Performing an international repertoire to a packed venue in the capital's Old City, she told AFP that "some bars and restaurants were closed and others had problems with licences... but thank God, today we have started to work again."

Since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown on December 8, Syria's new Islamist authorities have not officially imposed restrictions on public behaviour, but some incidents -- mostly described as acts by "individual" perpetrators -- have sparked worry about personal freedoms.

Ishtar, 26, said that after Assad's ouster "we stopped all our activities -- we became afraid of singing openly anywhere".

Since then, however, locals and foreigners have crowded into cafes, restaurants and bars in the capital, discussing political and individual freedoms as well as issues once considered taboo like the fate of missing people and the deposed government's notorious prisons.

But recent weeks........

© Al Monitor