The discrimination and destitution of Assyrians by Kurdish actors was aired on TV when a Kurdish channel owned by the Talabani clan, highlighting land grabbings Assyrians face in the part of Northern Iraq controlled by the rival Barzani clan, itself presented Assyrians as "Christian Kurds".
In a news segment aired on December 19th on the Sulaymaniyah-based Channel 8, the issue of land-grabbing faced by Assyrians in various villages was addressed.
In the clip, the reporter visited villages in the region and interviewed locals, who described seizure of lands by the Kurdish KRG government and high ranking members of the Kurdish KDP party. An Assyrian man named Patoo is featured, describing the occupation of his land and the lack of government action to resolve the issue. He also mentions other villages that have faced similar issues.
Towards the 2:42 mark of the video, the news anchor states, "There are about 70 Christian villages in Duhok Province, but the identity of some of these villages is still unknown. Some of them have been changed for villas and projects", and goes on to say: "One of the villages in the region is Miska, which is mostly populated by Christian Kurds."
The mislabeling of Miska's Assyrian population reflects a long-standing pattern of Kurdification of Assyrians in the country's northern regions. It is an issue that has continuously been brought to light, and as this news video shows, continuous.
The village of Miska has been subject to routine violence during Turkish airstrikes on the PKK since the beginning of the decade. In 2021, the Mar Yousip Assyrian Church of the East in the village was damaged as a result of said airstrikes. When renewed airstrikes took place in 2024, parts of the village and its church were damaged once more. Many of the Assyrians inhabitants of the villages were forced to flee as a result of the clashes.
On top of being caught in the PKK-Turkish conflict and facing land grabbs, Assyrians are routinely misrepresented by Kurdish media and political actors in an ongoing denial of ethnic identity and rights as an indigenous population.
