Christmas tree burning: Protests hit Syria

A Christmas tree was set on fire in Syria, sparking protests in several areas of the capital, Damascus,  yesterday.

According to report, the protesters demanded that the country’s new Islamist government take action to safeguard minorities.

A social media video showed the christmas tree burning in the central Syrian town of Suqaylabiyah, which has a Christian majority.

The primary Islamist group that spearheaded the rebellion that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reportedly said that foreign militants had been arrested in connection with the incident.

Representatives of HTS have also pledged to defend the liberties and rights of Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, report says.

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 reportedly 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 news agency: “If we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to, then we don’t belong here anymore”.

Syria is our home

Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia, and Arab Sunnis—the latter of whom comprise the majority of the Muslim population—are among the numerous ethnic and religious groups that call Syria home.

The Assad family’s more than 50-year dynasty came to an end little over two weeks ago when opposition forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad as president.

Since then, a large number of Syrians who had been displaced have started returning home; Turkey reported on Tuesday that over 25,000 Syrians had done so.

But how the HTS group will run Syria is still up in the air.

Before taking a more practical, less radical stance in recent years, HTS was a jihadist organization that advocated using violence to establish a state ruled by Sharia law.

According to report, its leaders discussed creating a Syria for all Syrians as fighters marched to Damascus earlier this month.

According to 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.

While “all factions” were named in the statement, it was unclear which groups were specifically part of the merger.

There are other armed groups in Syria, some of whom are hostile to HTS and others that have, at best, shaky ties to it.

HTS: Terrorist organization

Although there are indications that a diplomatic change may be occurring, HTS is still classified as a terrorist organization by the US, EU, UK, and UN.

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.

Analysts suggest that 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.

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