Kurdistan Assyrians commemorate 83rd anniversary of Simele massacre
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Sunday, Assyrians in the Kurdistan Region commemorated the 83rd anniversary of the Simele massacre committed by Iraqi forces in 1933.
In August 1933, Iraqi forces attacked Assyrians in the north of Mosul and south of Duhok provinces known as Nineveh Plains.
Over 5,000 Assyrians were killed including men, women, and children as well as the destruction of more than 60 villages.
Many people, including officials and Christians, commemorated the anniversary of the Simele massacre, gathering in front of Mar Yusuf Church in the district of Ankawa, Erbil.
Romio Hakkari, the Secretary-General of the Assyrian Bet al-Nahrain Party, told Kurdistan24 that the Iraqi army massacred Assyrians because they were asking for their rights and autonomy in the north of Iraq.
“We ask the international community to defeat the brutal Da’esh group and protect Christians in Iraq by establishing the Nineveh Plains province,” said Hakkari, using the Arabic pejorative for the Islamic State (IS).
He mentioned that Christians in Nineveh Plains desire their region separate from Nineveh.
[Nineveh Plains Province claimed by the Christians of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. (Photo: Mapia Map)]
“We do not want to be part of the possible Sunni autonomous region in Iraq,” Hakkari stated, claiming the Sunnis in Nineveh are discriminating Christians in the area.
He also noted that they put efforts in creating Nineveh Plains for Christians, and will continue to gain more support from the international community and Washington administration.
Christians have established the Nineveh Plains forces that are administrated and supervised by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga Ministry.
The Nineveh Plains troops fight hand in hand with Peshmerga forces to liberate their territories from IS insurgents.
“We will continue to build more forces after the defeat of Da’esh to protect our areas from any threats,” Hakkari added.
Khalid Jamal Albert, General Director of Christian Affairs in the KRG’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs previously told Kurdistan24 that nearly 320,000 Christians live in the Region.
He added that many fled from other parts of Iraq following the emergence of IS in June 2014.
In a visit to the Assyrian Church in Ankawa on Dec. 25, 2015, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said Christians are an indigenous people in the Region not just a minority.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Hoshmand Sadiq contributed to this report)