Credit: @GrecoLevantines/X
Thousands of Syrians took to the streets in protest after a Christmas tree was set alight near the city of Hama.
A video circulating online shows hooded men setting fire to a tree in the main square of the central Christian town of al-Suqaylabiyah.
Officials from Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that now controls Syria, said the act had been carried out by âforeign fightersâ and promised harsh punishment as well as the replacement of the tree.
HTS is a former al-Qaeda affiliate, but it has long distanced itself from them. Since deposing Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive earlier this month, it has promised to respect minorities and build a Syria for all Syrians.
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The al-Suqaylabiyah tree-burning followed an incident in Aleppo, in which a tree was destroyed in a Christian neighbourhood but later replaced by HTS.
Demonstrators have demanded that HTS protect religious minorities in Christian areas of Hama, Damascus and other regions.
Christians have aired concerns about Syria under HTS, with people in Damascus telling The Telegraph that Christmas decorations and celebrations had been toned down this year.
HTS remains designated as a terrorist organisation by the UK, the US, and others, but Washington has abandoned a ÂŁ7.9 million bounty on the head of Mohammed al-Jolani, its leader.
Syria is a melting pot of ethnic and religious groups, with Christians making up around two per cent of the population and the majority of people Sunni Muslims.
Christians made up about 10 per cent of the population before Syriaâs 13-year civil war, but many fled to escape widespread persecution by Islamic terrorists.
Public protests are likely to alarm ruling leaders. Mass protests challenged Assad before he ordered a brutal crackdown that led to civil war.
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