Nine Assyrian organizations in Iraq have announced a joint plan to erect a monument in the city of Simele to honor the victims of the 1933 massacre of Assyrians. The plan was outlined in a written statement issued on August 20.
According to the statement, the first step will be a field visit to the land allocated for the monument in Simele by the Nohadra (Duhok) governorate in 2019, in order to survey the site.
As a second step, the signatories call on the diaspora to become involved and support the project financially and in other ways.
The signatories, which include the Assyrian Democratic Movement and its affiliated youth, development, and women’s organizations, aim to have the monument completed in time for next year’s Assyrian Martyrs Day on August 7.
The Iraqi state has yet to officially recognize the Simele massacre.
Assyrian villages along the Khabur River in Syria’s northeast, including the town of Tell Tamer, are effectively held hostage by the Kurdish YPG militia amid ongoing fighting with the Syrian army.
As tensions persist in Syria’s Gozarto region, leading Assyrian political organizations have warned against further escalation, urging dialogue and the protection of civilian areas amid fighting between Kurdish PYD forces and the Syrian government.
Military developments across the Gozarto region have raised concern among Assyrians, as Syrian army advances roll back Kurdish control. While fears persist, community leaders report no casualties so far and continued efforts to keep Assyrian areas out of the fighting.
Saleh Mohammad Muslim, a senior PYD Kurdish leader who has controlled northeastern Syria since 2011, warned that Damascus demanding control of the region would plunge Syria into chaos and civil war.
Chicago's Cook County has recognized Assyrian National Heritage by honoring more than two dozen Assyrian civic, business, and community leaders in Cook County, highlighting the growing visibility and contributions of the Assyrian community in the United States.
The finds, which also include dozens of clay sealings, contain details of a metric system used to measure resources, as well as evidence of a cult of personality around a particularly charismatic ruler
As tensions persist in Syria’s Gozarto region, leading Assyrian political organizations have warned against further escalation, urging dialogue and the protection of civilian areas amid fighting between Kurdish PYD forces and the Syrian government.
A silver necklace featuring a lion figure and an eight-pointed star, believed to represent the Assyrian goddess Ishtar, has been unearthed during excavations at the ancient city of Amos in Mugla, southwestern Türkiye.
The Assyria Post
