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.

Protests erupted in Christian neighborhoods of the Syrian capital Damascus after a Christmas tree was set on fire in another town by unidentified men on Monday evening. A video showing men setting fire to a publicly displayed Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah,

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "Today there is a large deployment of security to protect the churches,

Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Tuesday for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. The now ruling Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS, in Syria had after overthrowing Assad pledged to protect the rights of the country’s religious minorities.

One of Syria's oldest churches hosts its first Christmas Day mass since the fall of the Assad regime:: Damascus, SyriaThe morning service went smoothly, with a chorus of hymns filling the historic church.

Syria's new rulers began an operation in western Tartous province, home to many from ousted leader Bashar Assad's Alawite sect. The killing of 14 police officers the previous day has irked the Islamist-led authorities.

Dr H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute discussed the fate of Christians in the new leadership of Syria.