Armenians of Qamishli bid farewell to Father Hoseib

Qamishli - Body of Father Hoseib Beidou and his father Hanna Ibrahim Beidou arrived at St. Joseph's Armenian Catholic Church – NPA

Qamishli – North-Press Agency
Reem Shamoun – Sargon Yousef

The body of the priest Ibrahim Hanna Beidou, known as Father Hoseib Beidou, the priest of St. Joseph's Armenian Catholic Parish in Qamishli, and his father Hanna Ibrahim Beidou, arrived in St. Joseph's Armenian Catholic Church in the city of Qamishli yesterday evening, after he was assassinated yesterday by the Islamic State militants (ISIS).

Father Hoseib Beidou was heading towards Deir ez-Zor to oversee the restoration of the Armenian Catholic Church when he was targeted by gunmen driving a motorcycle, with his father and two deacons on the road between Deir z-Zor and Hasakah, resulting in the loss of Father Hoseib and his father, causing the death of Father Hoseib and his father Hanna Beidou immediately and the injury of the Deacon Fadi Sanou.  
ISIS affiliated Agency "A'maq" announced the targeting of Father Hoseib and his father by ISIS militants near the town of al-Buseira, publishing the news with a photo of Father Ibrahim Hanna Beidou's identification card.
 

Targeting the Christians
Official of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, Dawood Dawood told North-Press that, they see this assassination as a targeting of the Christian presence in the region, calling on the international community to shoulder its legal, moral and political responsibilities to pursue "the elimination of terrorism and the terrorist thought in the region".  
"We also call on the international community to put more pressure on a political solution in Syria because the political solution in Syria will lead to stability and security in the region", he added.
 

Attempt to uproot the Christians  
For its part, the Assyrian Democratic Organization has condemned the assassination of the priest and his father in a statement considering it as "a continuation of the attempts to uproot the Christians from the region".
"The organization sees this targeting as a continuation of the targeting of civilians, especially Christian clerics, and it forms a real threat to the overall Christian presence in Syria and the region", the statement said.
It is noteworthy that, the body of Father Hoseib Beidou, the priest of the parish of St. Joseph of the Armenian Catholics in Qamishli and his father, Hanna Ibrahim Beidou will be buried today in Qamishli.