Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus early on Tuesday to protest against the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria, Agence France-Presse journalists witnessed.
A demonstrator who gave his name as Georges told AFP he was protesting injustice against Christians. If we're not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to, then we don't belong here any more, he said.
The protests erupted after a video spread on social media showing hooded fighters setting fire to a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near Hama.
In another video posted to social media, a religious leader from Syria's victorious Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) addressed local people, claiming those who torched the tree were not Syrian and promising they would be punished.
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