Hassaka, Syria (AINA) — The Assyrian village of Tel Hormizd was attacked on Saturday, July 27 at about midnight. Fifty Arab Muslims on motorcycles entered the village and began a shooting rampage. According to residents, the Muslims fired indiscriminately, wounding two Assyrians, one of whom is still in hospital. The Assyrians repelled the attack by shooting at the Muslims. It is not known if any of the attackers was injured.
Smaller communities such as the Assyrians are being squeezed still further. Their fate is a crucial test of Iraq’s democracy. Weiterlesen
The Cairo Criminal Court decided this week to accept the appeal and release, pending investigations, the remaining 27 Coptic detainees arrested in connection with the events of Maspero Massacre on October 9, where 27 Copts were killed and 329 injured. Weiterlesen
The US withdrawal from Iraq could spell the last push factor for the remaining members of Iraq’s vulnerable minorities. Iraq is far from a safe and functioning country. Attacks continue to threat civilians. The violence has forced more than 60 percent of Iraq’s Assyrian population to flee the country. Assyrians in Iraq continue to be the targets of systematic violence, whether in areas under the central government or the Kurdish administrated area. The latest attacks on Assyrian businesses in Northern Iraq clearly prove the continuing discrimination. Weiterlesen
As the United States prepares to withdraw its troops from Iraq, a horrible wave of terrorism has swept several towns in the Kurdistan Region. On Friday, December 2, 2011, starting in Zakho, thousands of young men paraded through several areas, destroying, pillaging and burning shops, hotels, and other properties. The attacks spread to 5 other towns and carry the hallmarks of an organized campaign. Their targets were the properties of the indigenous inhabitants of the area; the Chaldean Syriac Assyrians and the Yezidis, who have been the subjects of severe persecution. Shockingly, security forces in the region seemed to be non-existent during critical hours. Weiterlesen
Muslim Kurds attacked at least 20 liquor stores, 3 casinos and 1 Chinese massage parlor in the predominantly Assyrian town of Zakho, in north Iraq. The liquor stores are owned mostly by Assyrians. Weiterlesen