A whole lot of individuals have protested in Christian areas of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a video emerged exhibiting hooded fighters setting a Christmas tree on hearth elsewhere within the nation.
“We demand the rights of Christians,” demonstrators chanted as they marched by the town on Christmas Eve.
The overthrow of Bashar al Assad by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – a bunch as soon as aligned with Al Qaeda – has sparked issues for non secular minorities in Syria, however the group’s chief has insisted that each one faiths might be revered.
The protests erupted after a video unfold on social media exhibiting fighters torching a Christmas tree within the Christian-majority city of Suqaylabiyah, close to the town of Hama.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the lads had been foreigners from the Islamist group Ansar al Tawhid.
A demonstrator who gave his title as Georges stated he was protesting “injustice in opposition to Christians”.
“If we’re not allowed to dwell our Christian religion in our nation, as we used to, then we do not belong right here anymore,” he stated.
Folks collect close to a Christmas tree in Damascus, Syria. Pic: Reuters
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A non secular chief from HTS, the main insurgent group within the coalition that toppled Assad, claimed that those that set the tree on hearth had been “not Syrian” and promised they might be punished.
“The tree might be restored and lit up by tomorrow morning”, he stated.
