Protests have broken out across Syria following the burning of a Christmas tree in Suqaylabiyah, a predominantly Christian town in central Syria.
The incident, captured in videos shared on social media, shows footage of the tree in Suqaylabiyah’s main square engulfed in flames, with masked men seen pouring an unidentified liquid onto it on the eve of Christmas.
While it was unclear whether they intended to extinguish the flames or fuel the fire, the arson attack has sparked outrage among Syria’s Christian community.
According to BBC, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction that now governs the region following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, announced that foreign fighters were detained in connection with the attack.
The group’s representatives pledged to uphold the rights and freedoms of religious and ethnic minorities, seeking to reassure the public.
In a surprising gesture, a religious leader affiliated with HTS addressed the crowds that gathered at the site of the burned tree.
Holding a cross, he vowed to have the tree restored in time for Christmas morning, a move seen as unprecedented for an Islamist leader in a conservative context.
However, the incident has fuelled wider vexation, with protests spreading to parts of Damascus, including the Christian-majority neighbourhoods of Kassa and Bab Touma.
Demonstrators carried crosses and Syrian flags, chanting, “We will sacrifice our souls for our cross.”
Some protesters called for the expulsion of foreign fighters, with chants of “Syria is free, non-Syrians should leave.”
“If we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to, then we don’t belong here anymore,” said Georges, a protester in Damascus, speaking to AFP.
The arson attack has reignited tensions in a country already deeply divided by years of conflict.