The Christmas tree set up in the courtyard of Saint George Church in the Zahrieh neighborhood of Tripoli. (Credit: Facebook page of the Al-Tawarek Foundation)
Unknown individuals threw a Molotov cocktail into the courtyard of a church in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, aiming at but not hitting the Christmas tree that had been installed there, according to local and security sources cited by our correspondent in the region.
The explosive was thrown at dawn into the courtyard of the Greek Orthodox Saint George Church in the Zahrieh neighborhood, and the assailants fled the scene.
An investigation has been launched by security forces, who went to the site and collected footage from surveillance cameras around the building. A photo shows that the decorated tree was not hit, with only a soot mark visible on the church courtyard tiles.
This attack was condemned by the Al Tawarek foundation, a charitable NGO that helps underprivileged Tripolitan families and had installed the tree, according to its Facebook page.
The organization denounced "an act that aims to sow sectarian strife," which could have "inflamed tensions" in the city, while stressing that nothing can "shake the unity and cohesion of the Tripolitan community."
Two years ago, a tree also erected by Al Tawarek in the same location was set on fire on Christmas Eve and was completely destroyed, while another tree was partially burned at the Nini roundabout in the center of the northern capital.
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