Rhino: Agencies – Syrian Christians attended a Christmas Eve mass on Tuesday for the first time since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, in an early test of pledges by new Islamist leaders to protect the rights of the country’s religious minorities.

The service was held amid tight security due to fears of violence targeting Christian sites, with several light trucks belonging to the ruling Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham lined up around the church.

Young and old filled the pews of Our Lady of Damascus Church in the Syrian capital, holding candles and singing hymns that echoed throughout the church.

Hours before the start of the service, hundreds of protesters gathered in Damascus to denounce the burning of a Christmas tree in the northern countryside of Hama in west-central Syria.

The protesters carried wooden crosses and chanted, “We are your soldiers, Jesus,” “With spirit and blood we support you, Jesus,” and “The Syrian people are one nation.”