In Syria, Christians protest after Christmas tree burning
In Damascus, Christians are demanding equal rights.
On December 24, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus, protesting the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama. The incident sparked outrage within Syria's Christian community, reports Golos Ameriki.
Protesters marched through the Syrian capital, heading toward the Orthodox Patriarchate building in the Bab Sharqi district. They chanted slogans demanding equal rights for Christians and carried crosses.
One demonstrator told Agence France-Presse: “We are gathered here because there is a lot of injustice toward Christians under the guise of individual actions.”
He added: “Either we live in a country that respects our Christianity and feel safe in it as we did before, or they open the doors of church shelters so we can leave for abroad.”
The protests were triggered by a video circulating on social media showing armed, masked militants setting a Christmas tree on fire in Suqaylabiyah, a predominantly Christian town. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the arsonists were foreigners linked to the Islamist group Ansar al-Tawhid.
Amid the public outrage, the leader of the Islamist coalition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) issued a statement condemning the actions of the arsonists, emphasizing that they were “not Syrians.” The leader promised to punish those responsible and to have the Christmas tree restored by the next morning.
As reported by the UOJ, international human rights organizations are calling for prayers for Syrian Christians.
