TEL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – TheAssyrians inKhabour villages in the country side of Hasakah, northeast Syria, recall the sixth anniversary of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) attack on their villages, which resulted in the destruction of their houses and churches as well as the migration of many residents.
On February 23, 2015, ISIS launched an attack on the Assyrian villages in Khabour area and managed to control 11 villages and kidnap more than 240 civilians.
The attack resulted in the displacement of thousands of Assyrians to the neighboring cities in order to migrate abroad until the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the US-led Global Coalition could retake them.
“Few families”
The Head of the Assyrian People’s Council of Khabour villages, Ilyas Antar, said that the attack left destroyed villages and a few number of residents.
“Our villages used to be full of people, houses and resorts. We used to have a life, we used to have a civilization,” Antar told North Press.
The number of the Assyrians of Khabour area and Tel Tamr before the Syrian crisis was around 15,000, but now it is limited to only 1,000.
Most of them reside in the villages of Tel Tamr, Tel Nasri, Tel Tal, Umm Garkan and Tel Hafyan, according to a study by the Assyrian researcher Bashir al-Sa’adi.
The Assyrian villages received more than 1,500 displaced families of Afrin and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) after the Turkish invasion in 2018 and 2019.
The Assyrians have a military council called Khabour Guards, which is affiliated with the SDF, in addition to the Popular Committee for Preserving Internal Security, known as al-Natura.
“Destroyed churches”
The implications of ISIS’s attacks have affected the worship rituals in churches and the social activities of the Assyrians.
The attacks resulted in the complete destruction of eight churches in the villages of Tel Hormuz, Tel Tal, Tel Shamiran, Tel Jazira, Tel Tal’a and Abu Tina.
In addition to Virgin Mary Church in the village of Tel Nasri, which was one of the largest and most famous Assyrian churches in Khabour, according to a survey conducted by the Assyrian Khabour Guard Council.
The prayers were held in Assyrian churches in 32 villages and the rings rang in churches full of prayers on Sundays.
Nowadays, the prayers are held only in Eids, and the priest comes from Qamishli.
The Deacon of Mar Shalita church in Umm Garkan, Issam Barouda, said that he is serving in the church alone.
“The church used to be full of people, and we used to have a lot of Masses,” he added.
Barouda pointed out that Turkey is still threatening the Assyrian people, “there are repeated targeting of the Assyrian villages on the front lines by the Turkish-backed armed groups.”
On the Akitu festival, the Assyrian New Year, the Assyrians and Syriacs “used to gather in tens of thousands in Abdulaziz Mountain where folkloric bands were held and squares were filled with a celebration.”
Barouda, who lost most of his friends due to immigration, hopes that the remaining Assyrians will not emigrate “so that we can protect our church, our customs and our traditions.”
“Waiting and wishes”
Shushan Ati, from the village of Tel Hormuz that was destroyed during the ISIS attack, and now lives in the village of Umm Gharkan, said “Just my only son and cousin was left of my family.”
Tel Hormuz is one of the most affected villages in Khabour, as its church was destroyed and its homes were looted, in addition to ISIS militants booby-trapping the village’s houses before they left.
There were 120 Assyrian families living in the village, but now, only 30 families remained, that are distributed over the village of Umm Gharkan, the town of Tel Tamr and the city of Hasakah.