On Tuesday, a Christmas tree was burned in the country of Syria. The burning was carried out by several masked men, according to footage that spread throughout the internet on Monday. The video revealed that several disguised individuals were standing around a tree that was set ablaze. The tree was placed in the town of Al-Suqaylabiyah, near the central city of Hama.

The perpetrators’ identities remain unknown, as is the reasoning behind the act of arson.

The tree burning caused a protest the following day, in which hundreds of people from Christian neighborhoods marched along the streets of Damascus, the Syrian capital, holding Christian crosses and chanting sectarian strife.

One of the reasons for this protest could’ve been the fear of prosecution that many Christians (along with Druse and Alawites) hold because of the overthrowing of dictator Bashar al-Assad by an Islamic rebel group, despite the rebels having assured that minority groups will be under protection. The aforementioned new government has not made any comments about the burning.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has taken action, however. The Britain-based war monitor has blamed Islamist group Ansar al-Tawhid for the arson and said that they had already been arrested.

The foreigners were some of the thousands of soldiers sent to Syria during its own 13-year civil war, which had caused many outside powers to send troops from places like Turkey, Russia, and the U.S. Many assisted rebel groups, rather than help the Assad leadership.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had also reported other attacks against minority groups recently, including gunfire near a Greek Orthodox Church in the city of Hama. Additionally, some shrines belonging to the Alawite sect had also been attacked.

The need for an organized and united Syrian security force also became more apparent when, on December 21st, when two people were killed and four others injured in the city of Manbij, eastern Aleppo, according to the Syrian Civil Defense.