Dozens 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 now ruling Syria are jihadists, although Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has renounced long-standing ties to al-Qaeda and spent years describing himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.
It is still unclear who set fire to the Christmas tree on Monday, an act that was condemned by an HTS representative who visited the town and addressed the community.
“This act was committed by non-Syrians and they will be punished beyond their expectations,” the representative said in a video widely shared on social media.
“The Christmas tree will be fully restored this afternoon.”
On Tuesday, protesters 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 be 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 a church courtyard, assuring them of the rights of Syrians. Christians in Syria. .
Since HTS led a swift offensive that toppled former President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Syria’s minority communities have been on edge, unsure of how they will be treated under the emerging rebel-led government.
“We are here to demand a democratic and free government for a people and a nation,” said another protester. “We are united: Muslims and Christians. No to sectarianism.”
