Bethnahrin National Council marks anniversaries of Simele Massacre and Islamic State invasion of Nineveh Plains, reaffirms struggle for unity and self-rule

BETH NAHRIN — In a statement commemorating the 92nd anniversary of the 1933 Simele Massacre and the 11th anniversary of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) invasion of Nineveh Plains, the Bethnahrin National Council (Mawtbo Umthoyo d’Bethnahrin, MUB) reaffirmed its commitment to the national struggle and called for greater unity among the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people.

The MUB emphasized that the martyrs of Simele continue to illuminate the path of resistance in the pursuit of freedom and dignity. It described the massacre, which took place on 7 August 1933, as a systematic genocide carried out by the nascent Iraqi state against the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian population in an attempt to suppress their national and cultural aspirations.

The atrocities led to the destruction of dozens of villages and the displacement of thousands, with many forced into camps within Iraq and others fleeing to Syria. The statement argued that Simele was not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of racist policies that began with the 1915 Sayfo Genocide. These policies, perpetuated by nationalist regimes after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, sought to erase the religious, cultural, and historical identity of the Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamian) people.

Drawing parallels to more recent events, the MUB highlighted the ISIS invasion of the Nineveh Plains on 6–7 August 2014, which followed the Yezidi Genocide in Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar) just days earlier. This attack forced a mass exodus of Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people from their ancestral towns and villages, met with what the statement described as alarming international silence.

The MUB condemned ISIS’s occupation as yet another chapter in the ethnic cleansing of Iraq’s indigenous communities, designed to displace its original inhabitants and alter the region’s demographics.

It declared that the Simele Massacre remains a powerful symbol of national resistance and that the blood of its martyrs must continue to inspire the struggle for legitimate rights, particularly the pursuit of self-rule in their historic homeland.

The MUB urged all factions, organizations, and institutions within the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian community to overcome divisions and unite, stressing that true national unity is the only guarantee of dignity and survival. The Council reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to carrying forward the aspirations of the Simele martyrs and to intensifying efforts against any attempts to erase the identity or undermine the historical presence of the Beth Nahrin people in their ancestral land.