Scores of Syrian Christians protested in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, demanding greater protection for their religious minority, after a Christmas tree was lit in the city of Hama a day earlier.
Many of the insurgents now running Syria are jihadists, although Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has abandoned long-standing ties to al-Qaeda and portrayed himself as a champion of al-Qaeda for years Pluralism and tolerance.
It remains unclear who lit the Christmas tree on Monday, an act that was condemned by an HTS representative who visited the city and addressed the community.
“This act was committed by people who are not Syrians and they will be punished beyond your expectations,” the representative said in a video that was widely shared on social media.
“The Christmas tree will be fully restored by this evening.”
Christians marched through the streets of Damascus on Tuesday to denounce the burning of a Christmas tree in the Syrian city of Hama. The condemnation comes after a rise in attacks on Christian sites in the country.
On Tuesday, demonstrators marched through the streets of Bab Touma, a neighborhood in Damascus, shouting slogans against foreign fighters and carrying large wooden crosses.
“We demand that Syria is for all Syrians. We want a voice in the future of our country,” said Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syrian Orthodox Church as he addressed the crowd in the courtyard of a church, assuring them of the rights of Christians in Syria.
Since HTS led a rapid offensive that toppled former President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Syria’s minority communities have been nervous and uncertain about how they will be treated under the new 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 – Muslims and Christians. No to sectarianism.”
