Hundreds protest in Syrian capital after Christmas tree burned

DAMASCUS: Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus early Tuesday to protest the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria, AFP journalists witnessed.

“We demand the rights of Christians,” protesters chanted as they marched through the Syrian capital towards the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarchate in the Bab Sharqi neighbourhood.

The protests come a little more than two weeks after an armed coalition led by Islamists toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, who had cast himself as a protector of minorities in the Sunni-majority country.

A demonstrator who gave his name as Georges told AFP 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.

The protests erupted after a video spread on social media showing hooded fighters setting fire to a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near Hama.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the fighters were foreigners from the Islamist group Ansar al-Tawhid.

In another video posted to social media, a religious leader from Syria’s victorious Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) addressed residents, claiming those who torched the tree were “not Syrian” and promising they would be punished.

“The tree will be restored and lit up by tomorrow morning”, he said.

The Islamist HTS movement, rooted in Al-Qaeda and supported by Turkey, has promised to protect minorities since its lightning offensive toppled Assad this month following years of stalemate.