Syrian Christians attend Christmas mass for first time since fall of Assad

DAMASCUS, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Tuesday for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, in an early test of the new Islamist rulers' pledges to protect the rights of the country's religious minorities.

The service was held amid tight security due to concerns of violence against Christian sites, with several pickup cars belonging to the now ruling Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) parked around the church.

The pews of Lady of Damascus Church in Syria's capital filled with a mixed congregation of young and old, holding candles as hymns filled the air and echoed through the church.

Hours before the service, hundreds of protesters in Damascus had gathered to denounce an incident in which a Christmas tree was burned in the northern countryside of Hama governorate in western-central Syria.

Carrying wooden crosses, they chanted "We are your soldiers, Jesus", "With blood and soul, we sacrifice for Jesus," and "The Syrian people are one."

Protester Laila Farkouh said: "We are protesting to demand our rights and denounce... The burning of the Christmas tree, and attacks on churches.. We do not accept this."

De facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa has told Christians and other groups that they will be safe in a Syria run by his HTS, a former affiliate of al Qaeda.

Although himself a former leader of the Sunni Muslim Islamist group, which sees Christians as infidels, Sharaa has quickly shed his jihadist uniform and switched to business suits in recent appearances.

He has told visiting Western officials that HTS will neither seek revenge against the former Assad regime, whose senior figures were drawn mostly from the Alawite sect of Islam, nor repress any other religious minority.

But many Christians have yet to be convinced.

The Christmas tree burning was one of several incidents targeting Christians since the fall of the regime.

On Dec. 18 unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church in the city of Hama, entering the compound and attempting to destroy a cross, and smashing headstones in a cemetery, the church said in a statement.

In a separate incident, Reuters reporters saw several SUVs driving through Bab Touma, a predominantly Christian neighborhood of Damascus, blasting out jihadist songs from their speakers.—Reuters