Scores of Syrian Christians protested in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, demanding greater protections for their religious minority after a Christmas tree was set on fire in the city of Hama a day earlier.
Many of the insurgents who now rule Syria are jihadis, although Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has renounced longtime ties to al-Qaeda and spent years depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.
It remains unclear who set the Christmas tree on fire on Monday, an act that┬аwas condemned by a representative of HTS┬аwho visited the town and addressed the community.
“This act was committed by people who are not Syrian, and they will be punished beyond your expectations,” the┬аrepresentative said in a video widely shared on social media.
“The Christmas tree will be fully restored by this evening.”
Christians marched in the streets of Damascus on Tuesday to denounce the burning of a Christmas tree in the city of Hama, Syria. The condemnation comes after a rise in attacks on Christian sites in the country.
On Tuesday, protesters marched through the streets of Bab Touma, a neighbourhood in Damascus, shouting slogans against foreign fighters and carrying large wooden crosses.
“We demand that Syria be for all Syrians. We want a voice in the future of our country,” said Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syriac Orthodox Church as he addressed the crowd in a church courtyard, assuring them of Christians’ rights in Syria.
Since HTS led a swift offensive that overthrew former president Bashar┬аal-Assad earlier this month, Syria’s minority communities have been on edge, uncertain of how they will be treated under the emerging rebel-led government.
“We are here to demand a democratic and free government for one people and one nation,” another protester said. “We stand united┬атАФ┬аMuslims and Christians. No to sectarianism.”
