Tribal militia shovel archaeological hills in Hasakah’s countryside

The village of Qasrok, located some 5km to the south of al-Yarubiyah-Aleppo highway (M4), is one of the archaeological villages in al-Jazira region, where there are archaeological hills and a church built over one of these hills in the village, including stones with inscriptions written in the ancient  Syriac language and inscriptions of different crosses.

In 2015, the Antiquities Authority of the Autonomous Administration in North and East of Syria checked the hill, aiming at documenting the violations in the archaeological hill by bulldozing and digging military trenches inside it, as well as building a road from the bottom of the hill to the above, according to the director of the Antiquities Authority, these operations are rejected and  considered as a crime against humanity.

The Antiquities Authority has not repeated its visit to the hill since the first visit, but two roving guards from the village of Tal Kojer have been assigned to visit the hill once or twice a month, in order to monitor the the archeological hill and check its sizuation periodically.

Amer Ahmed, the director of the Antiquities Authority in al-Jazira region told North-Press that the excavations operations during the crises and wars are prohibited, and that Syria, including al-Jazira region is still living in a state of war, noting to the possibility of conducting an archaeological survey of the hill and collect pottery fractures, in order to evaluate the stages that the hill has passed through.

Residents of the village also found many pottery jars, with various types of small and large colored stones, as well as ancient coins of various sizes and types.

Residents confirmed to North-Press that al-Sanadid Forces (formed by Shammar tribe to fight against the Islamic State), had shoveled the hill in 2013, and in the excavated trench, the residents found stacked rows of pottery stones in the form of an ancient building.

One of the villagers stressed that the Christians are as peaceful as Jesus Christ, and that they are against all forms of violence, in response to the transformation of the village of Qasrok into a military center for al-Sanadid Forces.

Samer Denho added that they are against the presence of military forces in the religious places, “If the aim is to protect the village or the church due to the current state of war, it should be from outside the church, not from inside,” he said.

“When the first military forces came to the village, they were People’s Protection Units (YPG), then al-Sandid Forces came , we did not hand over the keys of the church to anyone, but al-Sanadid forces broke the locks then entered and stationed inside the church,” he clarified.

Denho added: “We did not bring anyone and we do not want anyone; since they came as military forces imposed on us to protect the village, we declare that we do not want them to station inside the church”.

Shenou Allawi, a woman living in the village commented: “There is no need for a military force to exist in the religious areas, because it is a place of worship and prayer, the church is a place for worship as the mosque”.

Qasrok, the formerly Syriac-majority village is one of the oldest Christian villages in the region, which has experienced the Syrian crisis, as other villages and areas in Syria.

The church of the village was built on an archaeological hill, then it became a center of the various military forces since 2013 until today, while the other hill was almost completely shoveled as it became a semi-hill.