Protesters took to the streets of Damascus, Syria, this Tuesday (24), to protest against an arson attack carried out the day before by a group of masked men who set fire to the Christmas tree in the main square of Suqaylabiyah, a predominantly Christian city located in the center of the country.
According to BBCciting the agency AFPthe demonstration aimed to draw the world’s attention to the, after a .
“If we are not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country like we used to, then we no longer belong here,” a protester named Georges told the outlet. AFP.
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Videos posted on social media show the tree on fire in Suqaylabiyah Square, but Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main Islamist faction that led the uprising that toppled Assad, said foreign fighters had been detained over the incident.
The masked men doused the Christmas tree with an unidentified liquid the night before Syria’s Christians prepared to celebrate Christmas Eve. It was unclear whether they were trying to put out the fire or help it spread.
Videos posted later showed a religious figure from the HTS rebel group assuring crowds who had gathered at Suqaylabiyah that the tree would be repaired before dawn. The man then erected a cross in a show of solidarity, something Islamic conservatives would not normally do.
