Masked militants have burned a Christmas tree in Al-Suqaylabiyah, one of Syria's largest Christian communities, prompting protests over religious freedom concerns under the country's new administration.

The previously EU-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that masked gunmen prevented citizens from approaching at gunpoint while setting fire to the tree, which had been erected days earlier in the city's main square. Local firefighters extinguished the blaze after the perpetrators departed.

Residents of the Hama Governorate city staged demonstrations in response, protesting what they described as growing security chaos and restrictions on religious practices.

Young men also conducted a sit-in outside regional command headquarters to denounce the attack on the Christian symbol.

The incident poses a challenge to Syria's new leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Ahmed al-Jolani), who has attempted to distance himself from his past association with hardline groups.

In recent press interviews, al-Sharaa has sought to reassure Syria's religious minorities, stating that "these sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them."

The Christmas tree burning comes despite al-Sharaa's public efforts to present a more moderate image, including his assertion that "people who fear Islamic rule either saw an incorrect application of it or do not understand it correctly."

The attack has heightened concerns among Syria's Christian minority about religious freedoms under the new government.