Administration of North and East Syria marks 109th anniversary of Sayfo Genocide, condemns Turkey’s continued oppressive policies

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — The Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) issued a statement commemorating the 109th anniversary of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people.

“The 1915 Sayfo Genocide against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people is just one example of the numerous genocides perpetrated by the Ottomans throughout history. Today, the same policy is being repeated at the same pace in Afrin [Cafrin] and other Turkish-occupied areas,” the DAARNES statement read.

The statement also noted that the Turkish policies of denial of the genocide will not succeed in eradicating the identity of peoples and their deep historical and geographical roots.

DAARNES strongly condemned the systematic policies of exclusion and denial by forces attempting to displace people from their lands and erase their identities.

“What Turkey is doing today constitutes a full-fledged war crime and a policy of actual genocide that must be held accountable,” the statement concluded.