Kurdish group calls for destruction of Assyrian churches in leaked Telegram chat
Calls to blow up churches has alarmed Assyrians as anti-Assyrian hate speech continues to rise in the KRG.
A Telegram group under the name “Kurdish Youth” has garnered controversy after leaked text images reveal calls for the destruction of Assyrian churches in Northern Iraq. The telegram group is associated with the Kurdish organization “Hawpa” which carries Neo Nazi ideology.
The Assyria Post
In the leaked message, the group accused church institutions of being anti-Kurdish and calls for terrorist attacks to blow them up and to prevent new churches to be built.
The leaked message, written in Kurdish, reads: As we know, KRG:s churches are the meeting places of the Nestorians, who preach against the Kurds! Therefore, the solution to this issue is to blow up all the churches in KRG or close them! They have built many churches in KRG in the name of Christ, but these places are places of opposition to the Kurds! Therefore, it must be destroyed and its construction banned.
News of the Telegram post quickly spread among Assyrian circles on social media, urging action against the group.
The “Kurdish Youth” Telegram post follows an incident in June 2025, when Hawpa posted a public anti-Assyrian Instagram video misrepresenting the indigenous population of Northern Iraq, and calling for mobilization against them.
Despite Hawpa claiming that the group has taken a hiatus, it has continued activities online and through various Telegram chats.
The Assyria Post
