We are on the verge of a new massacre by Turkey – Assyrian Official
Tal Tamr – North-Press Agency
Dilsoz Yousef – Jindar Abdul Qader
In the light of the ongoing military violations on the outskirts of the town of Tal Tamr in northeastern Syria, local people reject the war on the region, as they prefer to stay in their homes while fearing of permanent displacement; where the Syrian war has far caused the displacement of 90% of the Christian Assyrians, leaving the future of the few remaining families at stake, in case Turkish military resumes its military operations.
The town of Tal Tamr in the western countryside of Hasakah governorate includes about 35 Assyrian villages and towns located on the banks of al-Khabour River, some of which were emptied out of fear for the fate of its inhabitants from the attacks by the Turkish military and its affiliated armed opposition groups, who are now on the outskirts of their villages on the northern side.
Ramziya Kaku told North-Press that she had not left her land, despite her children had traveled abroad, after Islamic State (ISIS) attack on Tal Tamr countryside in February 2015. She said: "We only ask for peace, and all we want is to stay in our land and not to be displaced again," she continued in a melancholy tone, "thousands of us have already been displaced and we do not want to lose the rest.”
The town of Tal Tamer, which is mostly inhabited by Assyrians was attacked in February 2015 by ISIS, destroying the infrastructure of many villages, displacing thousands of people and kidnapping more than 220 individuals, before being later released in exchange for ransom. Before 2015 ISIS attacks, the proportion of Assyrians was about 25 thousands, but most of them left the country whereas only about 1,200 people remained.
Devastation Spring
Turkey and its backed armed opposition groups continue their attacks on areas in the countryside of Tal Tamr and Ein Issa, despite the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement to and the joint patrols on the borders.
Shamoun Kaku, an official in the Assyrian Democratic Party in Tal Tamr, told North-Press that Assyrians were massacred by the Ottoman Turks in 1915, the latest of which was the Islamic State attack that displaced about 90% of the Assyrian population. He also noted that they were on the verge of another massacre called the Devastation Spring, referring to the name of the ongoing Turkish military operation in north-eastern Syria. Mr. Kaku said: “I do not find any kind of peace in the so-called Turkish military operation Peace Spring; however, it should be called the Devastation Spring.
These are the same terrorist groups of ISIS, but their names have been changed since the same practices are carried on and nothing has changed.” Kaku stressed that Turkey and its affiliated groups are targeting the Autonomous Administration of north-eastern Syria and the coexisting components due to the security and stability state that the Administration has provided in the region, noting that the war targets all peoples, not a particular ethnicity.
Regarding the fears of the Assyrians in the event of the renewed attacks, Shamoun Kaku added: "Of course, we fear a new genocide and a demographic change in the region, as what is carried out in Ras al-Ain (Sere-Kaniye) by displacing its local people and housing new groups in their houses; and if the Turkish military operation continues, the Assyrians will be displaced, whom they make up the remaining 10% of the components in the region.”
It is noteworthy that Assyrian villages and areas where the Assyrian component resides remain far from the attention of the international community, which is indifferent to the demographic change that is taking place targeting all the components, as a result of the Turkish military invasion and its affiliated armed opposition groups in north-eastern Syria.