European Syriac Union report documents attacks on Assyrian villages in Khabur Valley. Calls for prosecution of IS terrorists, financial support for returnees and international guarantees

BRUSSELS — The European Syriac Union (ESU) released a comprehensive report detailing the destruction, kidnappings, and killings inflicted upon the Assyrians of the villages of the Khabur Valley on February 23, 2015. The report outlines the losses suffered by each village and highlights the fierce resistance mounted by the Syriac Military Council to push back Islamic State (IS) jihadists from the area. 

On that fateful day, the IS terrorist militants launched a brutal offensive, overrunning most of the 35 Assyrian villages along the Khabur River in Hasakah Province, North and East Syria. The ESU report, published to mark the anniversary of the attack, meticulously documents the massacres, systematic destruction, and mass abductions that followed. Divided into three key sections, the report examines the extent of the atrocities committed, the damage inflicted on the region, and the heroism of those who resisted. 

The report sheds light on the bravery of the fighters of the Syriac Military Council (Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo, MFS), which, despite being outnumbered and outgunned, engaged in fierce battles to defend the villages and force ISIS into retreat. It also honors the fallen fighters who sacrificed their lives to reclaim the region from terrorist control.

One of the most harrowing revelations in the report is the abduction of over 200 Syriac/Assyrian villagers. While some hostages were later released after ransom payments, others faced execution or were forcibly displaced as IS terrorist militants looted and burned homes, churches, and monasteries, leaving thousands of Assyrians with no choice but to flee their ancestral lands. 

Villages devastated: a ruined heritage 

The report describes the widespread destruction, the desperate attempts by military forces to protect civilians, and the long-lasting impact of the brutal violence. According to the European Syriac Union, IS sought nothing less than the total eradication of the Syriac/Assyrian presence in the Valley. The report provides a detailed account of the villages that bore the brunt of IS’s brutality, including Tal Hermiz, Tal Shamiram, Tal Nasri, Tal Jazira, and Tal Goran.

These villages are named after the original Assyrian villages in the Hakkari Mountains which the Assyrians fled from 1924 onwards. The Khabur Assyrians settled in the Khabur Valley from 1933 after leaving Iraq after the Simele massacre.

A hard-fought liberation 

By 2016, a coalition of the Syriac-led MFS and the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) had succeeded in liberating the occupied Khabur Valley villages. However, the scars of the conflict remained. The report notes that while some families have returned, many others have been permanently displaced, seeking refuge in the United States, Lebanon, Canada, Sweden, and Australia. 

The call for justice and protection 

Based on its findings, the European Syriac Union, an NGO advocating the rights of Syriacs and Christians in the Middle East, makes four key demands; IS’s crimes must be tried by international courts and those responsible punished; humanitarian and financial support must be provided to Syriac/Assyrian families returning to their villages; destroyed churches and monuments must be restored to preserve the Syriac/Assyrian cultural heritage; there must be international security guarantees to protect the Syriac/Assyrian people and prevent further attacks. Moreover, to prevent future atrocities, the report calls for global guarantees to safeguard Syriac/Assyrian-populated regions.

For the article in Arabic see here