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On December 23, 2024, local media outlets reported that a Christmas tree installed in Al-Sqailbiyyah, in the Hama countryside the previous day, was set on fire by unknown gunmen.[1]
Telegram channels supporting the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) -backed transitional government in Syria, claimed that the perpetrators were remnants of the ousted Al-Assad regime. [2]
However, news reports said that the perpetrators were Uzbek fighters affiliated with HTS.
"Uzbek Fighters Burned The Tree"
On December 24, Al-Ain, a daily based in the United Arab Emirates, wrote that "Syrian media cited the city's priest as saying that eight people of foreign nationalities set fire to the Christmas tree two days after it was lit."[3]
According to the report, the priest added that local security personnel were able to arrest the eight people, noting that the tree would be restored and lit again.
The incident took place at gunpoint, as the gunmen prevented residents from approaching, said the report.
The Uzbek fighters arrived in Syria during the Syrian civil war in 2011, and are currently aligned with HTS.
HTS Cleric Confirms "Perpetrators Are Not Syrians"
On December 23, an Idlib-based report, Humam Essa, posted a video on Telegram showing a cleric talking to the Christian residents of Al-Sqailbiyyah who were protesting the burning of the tree. The preacher was standing next to two priests and a Christmas tree.[4]
In his message, he assured the protesters that the tree would be restored and lit, adding that the perpetrators, who were "not Syrians," will be punished. He further assured the protesters that the new political power that took over after the fall of Al-Assad is determined to build a "institutional" state, where the rights of all Syrians would be preserved.
The caption provided by Essa described the cleric as "one of the leading figures in the revolution." This likely means he is affiliated with the HTS-led campaign against the Assad regime.
Syrian Jihadi Cleric: Christians Are Overreacting; The Cross Should Not Be Allowed To Rise
A Syrian jihadi cleric, Abdul Razzaq Al-Mahdi, commented on the incident. He criticized the Christian residents of the city, saying that they were overreacting by continuing to protest, and threatening to raise their arms to protect the Cross.[5]
Al-Mahdi posted a video which, he alleged, showed Christian residents protesting during the night and chanting: "Two Solutions: the Cross and a rifle."
He claimed the protest took place even after they received assurances from the city clergyman.
"Why all this fuss?" Al-Mahdi said. "And why this show!!An unknown person burned some Christmas trees!"
He claimed: "An unknown person burned some Christmas trees in Al-Suqaylabiyah. A sharia official [i.e., religious official] came out and apologized to them and promised to fix the tree and punish the perpetrator. He [the religious official] went too far in pleasing them by [allowing them to] raise the cross! Violating sharia [i.e., Islamic laws]. In the morning, they were given a new tree, and the perpetrator was arrested," he wrote.
Al-Mahdi expressed discontentment that additional protests in Christian populated areas had broken out to condemn the burning of the Christmas tree in Al-Suqaylabiyah.
He wrote: "Nevertheless, demonstrations broke out in Saidnaya, Sahnaya, Bab Touma and various areas. So, why the chaos and raising of weapons?"
[1] X, December 23, 2024.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report, Syrian Observatory For Human Rights Claims Masked Gunmen Torched Christmas Tree In Hama; Jihadis Accuse 'Remnants' Of Al-Assad Regime, December 23, 2024.
[3] December 23, 2024.
[4] Telegram, December 23, 2024.
[5] Telegram, December 24, 2024.
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