Member of First Khabur Genocide Victims Forum Robel Bahho calls for justice for Khabur Genocide victims

TEL TAMR, North and East Syria — The First Khabur Genocide Victims Forum recently convened in Tel Tamr, North and East Syria, to address the atrocities committed against the Syriac-Assyrian people in the Khabur River Valley in 2015.

Robel Bahho, a member of the Forum’s organizing committee, stressed the urgency of holding perpetrators accountable for these crimes. Speaking to the North Press Agency, Bahho pointed out that past discussions about the genocide have been limited to emotional and media narratives, falling short of formal legal recognition.

“Amid Syria’s ongoing political turmoil, transitional justice must be achieved, and the forum’s outcomes must reach Damascus,” Bahho stated. He highlighted the plight of tens of thousands of Syriac-Assyrian civilians who suffered displacement, killings, and other forms of violence, calling for guaranteed rights for this community and other ethnic and religious groups in Syria.

Bahho also noted the enduring fear among the Syriac-Assyrian community in Khabur. Many villages remain frontline zones for Turkish forces and allied militant factions following Turkey’s 2019 invasions of Rish Ayno (Ras al-Ayn) and Tel Abyad, compounding the region’s instability.

The Forum marks a critical step toward seeking justice and ensuring the protection of the Syriac-Assyrian people and their cultural heritage in the region.