Anniversaries of 1933 Simele Massacre and 2014 ISIS attack commemorated in Nineveh Plains

NINEVEH PLAINS, Iraq — August 7th, know as Assyrian Martyrs’ Day, marks the anniversary of the brutal massacres committed by the Iraqi government in 1933 in Simele and other villages of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people in northern Iraq, as well as the ten-year anniversary of the Islamic State (ISIS) invaded Mosul.

On 7 August 1933, Iraqi forces, under the command of General Bakr Sidqi, launched a brutal and indiscriminate military campaign against the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian villages in the Simele region. The soldiers conducted mass killings, pillaging, and burning of villages, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian men, women, and children.

Echoes of Simele were seen nearly 80 years later. At the beginning of August in 2014, alongside occupying the Nineveh Plains, ISIS committed genocide against the Yezidi and Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people. On 6 and 7 August, the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people fled from Nineveh Plains to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

ISIS forced the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people, for the first time in history, to evacuate their areas and become displaced in the land of their ancestors. Only the Tel Skuf area remained protected by the Nineveh Plain Protection Units and the Peshmerga.

The displaced Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people, who endured dire conditions for years, clung to the hope of returning to their homeland. ISIS committed numerous violations against their property, shrines, churches, monasteries, and monuments, aiming to obliterate their identity and presence in their homeland of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia).

Support for the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people came only from their institutions and organizations. UN aid was allocated solely to camps, while displaced people in churches, monasteries, and mobile vehicles received no support.

After the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in December 2017, initiatives were launched to reconstruct and restore the villages and cities of the Nineveh Plain. Consequently, a significant portion of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people returned to their homes and began reconstruction, but threats persisted.

Iranian-backed Shiite forces have sought to implement demographic changes in the region. The Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people continue to demand their rights, aiming to manage their affairs independently and secure self-protection for their ancestral areas.