Hundreds of people have protested in Christian areas of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a video emerged showing hooded fighters setting a Christmas tree on fire elsewhere in the country.
“We demand the rights of Christians,” demonstrators chanted as they marched through the city on Christmas Eve.
The overthrow of Bashar al Assad by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – a group once aligned with Al Qaeda – has sparked concerns for religious minorities in Syria, but the group’s leader has insisted that all faiths will be respected.
The protests erupted after a video spread on social media showing fighters torching a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near the city of Hama.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the men were foreigners from the Islamist group Ansar al Tawhid.
A demonstrator who gave his name as Georges said he was protesting “injustice against Christians”.
“If we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to, then we don’t belong here anymore,” he said.
People gather near a Christmas tree in Damascus, Syria. Pic: Reuters
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A religious leader from HTS, the leading rebel group in the coalition that toppled Assad, claimed that those who set the tree on fire were “not Syrian” and promised they would be punished.
“The tree will be restored and lit up by tomorrow morning”, he said.