Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Protests broke out in Syria due to the burning of a Christmas tree near the city of Hama.
A video posted on social media showed masked gunmen setting fire to a tree displayed in the main square of Suqaylabiya, a Christian-majority city in central Syria.
The main Islamist faction that led the uprising that ousted President Bashar al-Assad said foreign fighters were responsible for the arson and had been detained, and that the tree would be repaired soon.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across the country, demanding that the new Islamist rulers protect religious minorities.
In the Bab Touma neighborhood of Damascus, demonstrators carried a cross and Syrian flags, chanting “we sacrifice our souls for our cross.”
“If we are not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country as before, we no longer belong here,” a protester named Georges told AFP.
Syria is home to many ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shiites, and Sunni Arabs, the latter of whom constitute the majority of the Muslim population.
Just over two weeks ago, the presidency of Bashar al-Assad passed to rebel forces, ending more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family.
How Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) will rule Syria remains to be seen. The group has a jihadist past, from which it has distanced itself, and an Islamist present.
As the militants marched into Damascus earlier this month, its leaders spoke of creating a Syria for all Syrians.
The representatives also said that the rights and freedoms of religious and national minorities will be protected.
The UN, US, EU and UK still recognize HTS as a terrorist organisation, although there are signs that a diplomatic shift may be on the way.
on friday The US dropped the $10m (£7.9m) reward. on the head of HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, after meetings between senior diplomats and representatives of the group.
The US is continuing its military presence in Syria, saying it carried out an airstrike in the northern city of Deir ez-Zor that killed two ISIS fighters.
The presence of foreign fighters, Islamic extremists such as ISIS, or even regime supporters who are interested in creating danger and attacking minorities to destabilize the country are big challenges that the new Islamic leadership will face.
