After masked gunmen burned a Christmas tree in Suqaylabiyah, a town with a Christian majority close to Hama, protests broke out all around Syria. Religious minority were incensed by the occurrence, and it prompted concerns about Christian safety under the new Islamist regime.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
On the eve of Christmas celebrations, two masked guys were seen in a social media video burning the tree in the town’s main center. Thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand safety for religious minorities after the widely denounced fire attack.
The Islamist group that recently seized power after overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), claimed that the men behind the attack were foreign combatants. The suspects were taken into custody, the group declared.
A HTS religious leader spoke to the gathering in Suqaylabiyah and assured the Christian community that the tree would be fixed before morning. The leader held up a crucifix, an unusual gesture for Islamist conservatives, as a sign of support.
The attack sparked protests across the country. Protesters in Damascus’ Kassa neighborhood demanded that foreign combatants be driven out. Their chants, which expressed their rising dissatisfaction with foreign involvement in the nation, read, “Syria is free, non-Syrians should leave.”
Protesters holding crosses and Syrian flags in Bab Touma, another largely Christian neighborhood in Damascus, shouted, “We will sacrifice our souls for our cross.” “We don’t belong here anymore if we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to,” a protester named Georges told AFP.
Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia, and Arab Sunnis—the latter group comprising the bulk of the Muslim population—are among Syria’s diverse population. As HTS moves from its jihadist origins to leading a divided country, defending the rights of these minorities has emerged as a crucial concern.
In recent years, HTS, which was formerly infamous for its extreme position and ties to al-Qaeda, has made an effort to become more inclusive. The group’s commanders pledged to uphold the rights and liberties of minorities and create “a Syria for all Syrians” when the group’s fighters marched into Damascus earlier this month.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United Nations all continued to classify HTS as a terrorist organization in spite of these guarantees. Recent events, however, raised the possibility of a diplomatic change. Following discussions between HTS leaders and top diplomats, the United States recently canceled a $10 million reward for HTS chief Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Two Islamic State (IS) fighters were killed Friday in an attack in Deir Ezzor by the United States, which maintained its military presence in Syria. The Christmas tree’s burning highlighted the difficulties HTS faced in attempting to rule Syria. The presence of Islamic extremists, foreign combatants, and Assad regime loyalists posed a threat to the fledgling country and jeopardized efforts to safeguard minorities.
For now, the Christmas tree in Suqaylabiyah represents the tensions and hopes of a divided country, and Syria’s future will depend on HTS’s capacity to maintain security, promote unity, and fulfill its promises of inclusivity as the country adapts to its new leadership.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
