A video showing hooded men setting a Christmas tree on fire in a Christian-majority town has sparked protests in Syria.
Footage posted on social media shows the tree alight in Suqaylabiyah, near the city of Hama. It isn’t clear who set it on fire, but the act led hundreds of demonstrators to take to the streets in Christian neighbourhoods in the Syrian capital Damascus.
Two masked fighters feature in a video posted online setting the tree ablaze the night before Christmas Eve, according to reports. It has not been possible to independently verify the footage.
Unverified video of the apparent aftermath shows a figure said to be from the governing group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), promising crowds the tree would be repaired.
Protesters marched in Damascus and Suqaylabiyah, demanding the authorities provide better protection for Syria’s Christians. Christians also staged a sit-in inside the Mariamite Church in Damascus early on Christmas Eve.
Syria’s de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has sought to reassure minorities of their safety after Islamist rebels ousted former despot Bashar al-Assad on December 8.
Al-Sharaa, who leads the Islamist HTS, said just two days ago sects would not be excluded in Syria.
Foreign powers and some Syrian people had expressed fears Mr Al-Sharaa would impose strict Islamic rules on Syria, where minorities include Christians, Kurds, Alawites and Kurds.
He said: « We take pride in our culture, our religion and our Islam. Being part of the Islamic environment does not mean the exclusion of other sects. On the contrary, it is our duty to protect them. »
Further protests erupted on Tuesday (December 24), according to the BBC, with some calling on non-Syrians to leave the country in reference to foreign fighters who helped HTS topple al-Assad.
They are reported to have cried: « Syria is free. Non-Syrians should leave ». Some have claimed foreign fighters were behind the Christmas tree burning.
Protesters in Bab Touma, Damascus, carried crosses and Syrian flags, with one demonstrator telling AFP news agency: « If we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to, then we don’t belong here anymore. »
HTS had been uncompromising in its pursuit of establishing a state governed by Islamic law, but over recent years has softened its stance.
The group is still designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US, European Union and United Nations, but signs have begun to emerge that HTS may be about to see a shift away from the designation.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Tuesday they had launched a counter-offensive against the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
The SDF is Washington’s ally in Syria, targeting sleeper cells of the extremist Islamic State group scattered across the east of the country.
Since the fall of al-Assad, clashes have intensified between the US-backed group and the SNA as the Kurds attempt to protect an enclave of autonomous rule across northeastern Syria.
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