Resilience and Challenges: Syriac–Assyrian villages of the Khabur River Valley

TEL TAMR, North and East Syria — At the dawn of the 20th century, tens of thousands of Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrian–Chaldeans) sought refuge in northern Syria following the genocide perpetrated against them by Turkish nationalists in 1915 during the Ottoman era. Another wave arrived in northern Syria’s Khabur region in 1933 after the Simile Massacre, where the Iraqi Army destroyed over 60 Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian villages, resulting in approximately 10,000 casualties.

The Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) community established 35 villages and towns along the banks of the Khabur River, renowned as the wheat reservoir of Gozarto (Jazira) due to its robust flow and lush orchards of pomegranates and grapes.

Covering 4 million dunums of agricultural land, the Khabur River is a vital source of water, nurturing abundant wheat fields and sustaining various crops.

The Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) villages became hubs of intellectual and artistic vitality, nurturing generations of academics, writers, poets, and creative minds who contributed significantly to Syrian society.

However, tragedy once again struck on 23 February 2015, when the Islamic State (ISIS) launched a brutal assault on the region, seizing control of 14 towns, inflicting casualties, destroying churches, and kidnapping 250 individuals, later releasing them. The Syriac Military Council, alongside the People’s Protection Units and the US-led International Coalition, liberated these towns from ISIS in May of the same year.

Before the war erupted in Syria in 2011, the Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) population of Khabur stood at approximately 20,000. Due to the Syrian crisis and ISIS attacks, most fled the region, leaving only around 1,300 inhabitants.

Edmond Boutros Qoryakos, a member of the Syriac–Assyrian Property Department in Tel Tamr and its countryside, explained that the Khabur region is currently made up of 33 villages and towns, with the largest being Tel Tamr.

In the aftermath of ISIS’s defeat, displaced individuals from territories controlled by the Turkish regime and its allied factions in Cafrin, Rish Ayno Ras al-Ayn, and Tel Abyad sought refuge in Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) villages. While initially accommodated, concerns arose about potential demographic shifts and the settlers’ extended stay.

Qoryakos highlighted the challenges facing Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) communities, including property damage and theft by some displaced individuals. He urged the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) local and international authorities to address the issue promptly, proposing the relocation of displaced individuals to designated camps to safeguard the integrity of the Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) villages’ integrity.

Similarly, Jamil Daniel, a member of the Assyrian Democratic Party’s Syria branch, emphasized the need for local and international organizations to relocate displaced persons to designated camps. Daniel underscored the importance of preserving the Syriac (Aramean–Chaldean–Assyrian) villages’ demographic composition, stating that the presence of displaced people in homes across the region prevents Syriacs (Arameans–Chaldeans–Assyrians) from returning to their homes. He urged expedited legal processes to resolve property disputes, saying that so far legal proceedings have taken too long and produced no results.