Several demonstrations broke out in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus on Tuesday to protest the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama, in central Syria. According to an NGO, the perpetrators were foreign fighters from a jihadist group.
“We demand the rights of Christians”, chanted the demonstrators as they marched through the streets of Damascus, towards the headquarters of the Orthodox patriarchate, in Bab Charqi, noted an AFP journalist
Flowing spontaneously from different neighborhoods, they gathered to express their discontent and fears more than two weeks after the takeover of power by an armed coalition led by Islamists who deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“We are going down, because there is a lot of sectarianism, injustice against Christians, under the cover of 'isolated cases',” Georges told AFP. “If we are not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as was the case, then we no longer have our place here,” he added.
These demonstrations broke out after the broadcast on social networks of a video where hooded fighters set fire to the Christmas tree in the predominantly Orthodox Christian town of Souqaylabiya, near Hama.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), the fighters were foreigners from the jihadist group Ansar al-tawhid.
“The tree will be restored”
In another video that has gone viral on social media, a cleric from the ruling radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is seen addressing local residents, saying that the perpetrators of this act were “not not Syrians” and promising them that they would be punished.
“The tree will be restored and lit by tomorrow morning,” he assured, alongside priests and to the cheers of residents who chanted Christian slogans.
Unifying the country fragmented by years of bloody war and where there are many factions with divergent allegiances and many religious minorities remains a challenge for HTS. This former branch of Al-Qaeda, which claims to have renounced jihadism and adopted a more moderate discourse, knows that it is being scrutinized for the way in which it will treat Christian minorities, Alawites and Kurds in particular.
HTS nevertheless finds itself confronted with the presence of numerous foreign fighters, mostly from Central Asia, who had joined its ranks or those of other Islamist and jihadist factions during the conflict after 2011 and continue to pose a major challenge for the 'organization.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
