Tal Tamr – North-Press Agency
Reem Chamoun – Charbel Henou
The town of Tal Tamr and the surrounding Assyrian villages (villages of Khabour) north-eastern Syria, live in difficult conditions as a result of the shelling and military clashes on the lines of contact with the Turkish military and its affiliated armed groups in which the people of the region in general and the Assyrians in the villages of Khabur, in particular, fear the great risks.
The Assyrian villages in Tal Tamr consist of 34 villages along 40 km, where residents suffer due to daily shelling by the Turkish military and its affiliated armed groups, stationed near these villages.
The spokesperson of the Assyrian Khabur Guard Council, Nabil Warda told North-Press that the forces of the Assyrian Khabour Guard Council are deployed in the town of Tal Tamr, and they have military points in the villages of Tal Kaifji, Tal Shamiran, and Tal Taweel, which are considered to be lines of contact with the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups.
He added: "Civilians live their normal life and do their daily work, but they are afraid of massacres against them because their Assyrian villages are adjacent to the front lines, especially the villages of Tal Shamiran and Um al-Kaif, as the armed groups are located in nearby areas.”
Atur Ishaq, an Assyrian woman from the town of Tal Tamr said that the armed groups bombed an Assyrian village a week ago and hit the power transformers, which led to power interruption in the town for four consecutive days, raising fears among the local residents.
She added: "After the attacks of the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS) and its targeting of our villages in 2015, similar attacks are being repeated now, as they are aimed at uprooting the Assyrian from Syria, and unfortunately the Russian and U.S. forces are present in the town but they are floundering with their stances regarding the threats on the Christian areas."
Jamil Daniel, from the Assyrians of Tal Tamr says that the massacres and attacks have followed the Assyrians for decades, starting from the massacres of Seyfo and Simele, ISIS attacks on their villages in 2015, and to the danger of the Turkish attacks that target the Assyrian presence.
Daniel indicated that they had not left their land and they want to stay, asking the Russian forces that entered their town as a guarantor to protect them, to be a true guarantor that protects the region from the scourge of war.