Hundreds protest in Damascus after Christmas tree burned

Demonstrators vowed to protect themselves with arms if necessary after Islamists set fire to a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria.

Hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus to protest the burning of a Christmas tree by Islamists near Hama in central Syria.

Protesters holding up crosses gathered in the Bab Tuma quarter after news spread of the fire in Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority town, with some vowing to defend themselves with arms if necessary.

“Hold up your cross high,” they chanted. “We are your soldiers, Christ — the cross and the rifle are the two options.”

“We demand the rights of Christians,” they added as they marched through the Syrian capital towards the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarchate.

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.

The Christmas tree was set on fire by Islamists in central Syria.

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-Qa'ida and supported by Turkey, has promised to protect minorities since its lightning offensive toppled Assad this month following years of stalemate.