Syrian Christians Protest in Damascus After Burning Of Christmas Tree -

Syrian christians protest after christmas tree was burned.

A Christmas tree was set on fire in Syria, sparking protests and demands that the country’s new Islamist government take action to safeguard minorities.The tree was burning in the central Syrian town of Suqaylabiyah, which has a Christian majority, according to circulating footage on social media.

The primary Islamist group that spearheaded the rebellion that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said that foreign militants had been arrested in connection with the incident. Representatives of HTS have pledged to defend the liberties and rights of Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities.

The night before Syrian Christians got ready for Christmas Eve, footage on social media seemed to show masked persons spraying the tree with an unknown substance. It was unclear if they were attempting to assist the fire spread or put it out.

Following the incident, footage showed a religious leader from the ruling HTS rebel group promising the masses in Suqaylabiyah that the tree will be fixed by dawn. Then, in a gesture of solidarity that is unusual for Islamist conservatives, the man raised a cross.

In response to the arson attack, more demonstrators took to the streets on Tuesday, including in several areas of the capital, Damascus. Some chanted against foreign fighters in Syria in the Kassa neighborhood of Damascus.

They said, “Syria is free, non Syrians should leave,” referring to the foreign militants that HTS claimed were responsible for the assault. “We will sacrifice our souls for our cross” was the slogan of demonstrators holding Syrian flags and a crucifix in the Bab Touma neighborhood of Damascus.

A protester named Georges told the AFP news agency, “We don’t belong here anymore if we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to.”

Numerous ethnic and religious groups call Syria home, including Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, and Arab Sunnis, who comprise the majority of the country’s Muslim population.

Rebel forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s presidency just over two weeks ago, bringing an end to the Assad family’s more than 50-year dominance.

We don’t yet know how the HTS group will run Syria. HTS was once a jihadist organization that advocated using violence to build a state under Sharia law, but in more recent years, it has taken a more reasonable and less radical stance. Earlier this month, its commanders discussed creating a Syria for all Syrians as fighters marched to Damascus.

According to the Sana news agency, the new government declared on Tuesday that leader Ahmed al-Sharaa had achieved a deal with “revolutionary factions… to dissolve all factions and merge them under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense.”

The ministry would be reorganized to accommodate rebel forces, according to Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir. Even though “all factions” were named in the statement, it remained unclear whose parties were specifically involved in the merger.

Syria is home to a number of armed organizations, some of whom are hostile to HTS and others of which have, at best, shaky ties to it.

Following discussions between senior diplomats and HTS representatives, the United States canceled a $10 million (£7.9 million) reward on Friday for the capture of HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The United States remains militarily present in Syria. It claimed on Friday to have killed two members of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in an airstrike in the northern city of Deir Ezzor.

The main obstacle facing the new Islamic leadership will be the presence of foreign fighters, Islamist extremists, or even supporters of the regime who are motivated to undermine the stability of the nation by targeting minorities and creating unrest.

– Deeprows News