Syriac Union Party member Shamoun recalls 2015 Khabur invasion
NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — On the anniversary of the invasion of the Khabur River Valley in North and East Syria by the Islamic State (ISIS), member of the Executive Committee of the Syriac Union Party (SUP) in Syria Gabriel Shamoun was interviewed by Suroyo TV about the events. During the invasion, ISIS attempted to annihilate the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people from their historical lands in the Khabur.
In the interview, he said that, “During the 2015 ISIS attack, hundreds of our Syriac people were kidnapped and taken captivate.” The ISIS campaigns were aided by Syria’s northern neighbor, according to Shamoun, “Turkey helped ISIS to launch a systematic violent attack in the areas where our Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people are present.”
He highlighted the many difficulties the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people faced at the time, especially with the kidnappings of children by ISIS until international mediation was able to stop the abductions and secure their release. “Simultaneously, our Syriac people migrated and fled to several areas, including the Gozarto [Jazira] Region,” he continued.
Before the ISIS invasion, approximately 20,000 people lived in the 35 Syriac–Assyrian villages in Khabur. As a whole, Syria had around 1.2 million Christians in 2011, however this number is now likely to be much lower as many were forced to flee the violence of the civil war. Of those who left, many have since emigrated to the United States, Australia, and Canada, and seem unlikely to return.
Regarding the resistance of the Syriac Military Council (Mawtbo Fulḥoyo Suryoyo, MFS), Shamoun stated that, “The MFS made great sacrifices and resistance in the face of terrorism. The MFS has had to offer countless martyrs to liberate the Khabur region and confront the Turkish-backed factions.”