Protests have erupted in Syria after masked gunmen set a Christmas tree ablaze near the city of Hama.
An online video has depicted gunmen, wearing masks, setting fire to the tree in the central square of the Suqaylabiyah, which is a mostly Christian town.
The main Islamist faction which ousted former President Bashar al-Assad claimed that the arsonists were foreign fighters and had been detained.
As a result, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the nation, calling for the new rulers to better protect religious minorities.
In pictures of protests in a neighbourhood in Damascus, some can be seen carrying a cross, as well as Syrian flags, while shouting: “We will sacrifice our souls for our cross.”
“We demand the rights of Christians,” protesters chanted, marching through the capital towards the neighbourhood’s Orthodox Patriarchate headquarters.
The ousting of Bashar al-Assad at the start of December fuelled concerns for religious minorities in Syria, as the rebel forces are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – which historically was aligned with Al Qaeda.
However, the group’s leader has said that every faith will be respected.
The protests started just over a fortnight after the rebels, led by Islamists, overthrew the Assad dynasty, who had previously claimed that he protected minorities across the nation
A demonstrator by the name of Georges, said he was protesting over “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.
A religious leader from the leading rebel group in the coalition of forces which ousted Assad said that the men who set the tree alight were “not Syrian” and vowed that they would receive punishment.
“The tree will be restored and lit up by tomorrow morning,” he said.
Syria is home to a multitude of ethnic and religious groups, such as Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis.
Sunnis make up the majority of the country’s Muslim population.
