Protests have damaged out in Syria over the burning of a Christmas tree close to town of Hama.
A video posted on social media confirmed masked gunmen setting hearth to the tree on show in the principle sq. of the Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority city in central Syria.
The principle Islamist faction which led the rebellion that toppled President Bashar al-Assad mentioned the lads answerable for the arson have been overseas fighters and had been detained and that the tree can be swiftly repaired.
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets throughout the nation, demanding the brand new Islamist rulers shield non secular minorities.
Within the Bab Touma neighbourhood of Damascus, protesters carried a cross and Syrian flags, chanting “we are going to sacrifice our souls for our cross”.
“If we’re not allowed to stay our Christian religion in our nation, as we used to, then we do not belong right here anymore,” a demonstrator named Georges advised AFP information company.
Syria is dwelling to many ethnic and non secular teams, together with Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis, the final of whom make up a majority of the Muslim inhabitants.
Simply over two weeks in the past, Bashar al-Assad’s presidency fell to insurgent forces, ending the Assad household’s greater than 50-year-rule.
How the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group will govern Syria stays to be seen. The group has a jihadist previous, which it has distanced itself from, and an Islamist current.
As fighters marched to Damascus earlier this month, its leaders spoke about constructing a Syria for all Syrians.
Representatives have additionally mentioned that the rights and freedoms of spiritual and ethnic minorities can be protected.
HTS stays designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, US, EU and UK, although there are indicators {that a} diplomatic shift could also be underway.
On Friday, the US has scrapped a $10m (£7.9m) bounty on the pinnacle of HTS chief Ahmed al-Sharaa, following conferences between senior diplomats and representatives from the group.
The US is constant its navy presence in Syria – it mentioned it performed airstrike within the northern metropolis of Deir Ezzor that killed two ISIS operatives.
The presence of overseas fighters, Islamic extremists like ISIS and even regime supporters who’ve curiosity in inflicting insecurity and attacking minorities to shake the nation’s stability are the large problem that the brand new Islamic management will face.
