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Click here for the latest News
11/22/06
More than 140 bodies turn up on Baghdad streets
11/21/06
Hidden costs wait to surface from Iraq war’s depths
Photos of our Grand Fathers migrating from Iraq to Syria in 1935
11/20/06
Iran invites Iraqi, Syrian presidents
11/19/06
Suicide bombing in Kirkuk claims 25 casualties
11/18/2006
Iraqi premier stresses Kirkuk will remain part of a united I
11/17/2006
Convoy of civilians hijacked in Iraq
11/16/2006
US commander says Iraq militias must be dismantled
11/15/2006
Mass kidnapping in Baghdad sparks arrests of police chiefs
11/14/2006
Iraq's human rights minister Wijdan Michael admits abuses
11/13/2006
11/12/2006
Violence in Iraq claims at least 159
11/11/2006
Iraq gunmen kill 10, abduct 50 on buses
11/10/2006
Pentagon to Review Its Strategy in Iraq
11/09/2006
Sunni politicians call for withdrawal from political process
11/08/2006
Iraq lawmakers extend state of emergency
IRAQ: Insurgents using children to fight US-led forces
Iraqi tribunal sentences Saddam to hang
In November surprise, top cheerleaders of Iraq war abandon B
Iraqi hospital workers inspect the bodies of civilians killed
11/02/2006
Dahuk-Twelve arrested for trying to travel illegally
11/01/2006
Iraq gunmen kill 10, abduct 50 on buses
10/29/2006
Protest against a security clampdown imposed
10/26/2006
10/25/2006
'Stop the looters destroying history'
10/24/06
Pictures Of Dr Hurmiz Abuna with our beloved Assyrians in Syria
10/23/06
Army translator missing in Baghdad
10/22/06
Poll: Majority of Iraqi Youths Want U.S. to Withdraw
10/21/06
Bush: No Strategy Change in Iraq
10/20/06
Attacks in Baghdad Rose by 22 Percent as 46 Killed Across Iraq
10/19/06
Iraqi PM: Saddam's Execution Would Undermine Insurgency
10/18/06
Eight GIs Face Court Martial Over Rape, Murder of Iraqi Civilians
10/17/06
Baker says no "magic bullet" for Iraq problems
10/16/06
Judge: Verdict in Saddam's Dujail Trial on Nov. 5
10/15/06
Judge in Saddam trial to set verdict date on Monday
Revenge attacks grip town north of Baghdad
10/14/06
Iraqi Interior Minister Promises Changes to Deal With Violence
10/13/06
At Least 15 Dead in Scattered Iraq Violence
10/12/06
Gunmen Storm Iraqi TV Station, Kill 11
10/11/06
Study sees 655,000 Iraqi war deaths; Bush disputes
10/08/06
10/02/06
Iraqi prime minister presents peace plan
10/01/06
Rubai’i reveals cause of curfew in Baghdad
09/30/06
30 Christian families receive threats to leave Mosul
Mosul - Iraq09/29/06
Saddam trial judge brother-in-law killed
Democrats want to "cut and run" from Iraq, Bush says
09/28/06
Quarter million Iraqis flee violence
09/27/06
Second attack in three days against a Chaldean church
26 September, 2006
IRAQU.S. troops kill 8 in raid, air strike on Iraq house
Police count 77 bodies found in Baghdad this week
09/24/06
Twin terrorist attacks on St. Mary’s Cathedral in Baghdad
Baghdad – Sunday09/21/06
IRAQ: Analysts say violence will continue to increase
09/20/06
Assyrian-Swedish journalist investigates the arrest of the Assyrian-Georgian General
09/18/06
Bombers and gunmen killed eight people in a tense city northeast of Baghdad
09/17/06
His Holiness Mar Khanania Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the east Arrives in Iraq.09/16/06
Iraq considers a ring of trenches around Baghdad
Iraq calls for calm after Pope's remarks
09/15/06
Fears for ancient treasures with Shia radical in charge
IRAQ: Armed conflict depriving youth of education, report says
09/14/06
Sharp drop in dollar demand at Iraqi Central bank auction
Provinces law timing not suitable-Iraqi slate
09/13/06
In Flash of Chaos, a Glimpse Into Iraq's Woes
09/12/06
65 tortured bodies found around Baghdad
09/11/06
Woman of the year, Rosie Malek Yonan
09/09/06
09/08/06
Eight killed as Iraq Shi'ites converge on festival
Iraq: A Civil War We Can Still Win
09/07/06
Tempers fray as Iraqi lawmakers discuss federalism
Iraq deaths multiply in new August count
09/06/06
Turkey rejects EU report and says it lacks objectivity
Speaker warns Iraq has months to avert collapse
09/05/06
Iraqis extend state of emergency a month
40 Bodies, Many Blindfolded, Are Found in Baghdad; 1980’s Execution Site Is Also Uncovered
09/04/06
09/02/06
33 bodies found scattered across Baghdad
Pentagon: Conditions exist for civil war in Iraq
09/01/06
An explosion in an Assyrian home in Midyat
Warning of long Baghdad struggle
Blasts Kill at Least 72 in Baghdad
08/31/06
Series of attacks leaves 46 dead in Iraq
Bush: Iraq, terrorism policies keeping U.S. safe
Announcement on British handover of Iraqi province 'imminent'
Violence in Iraq Kills 60 As Market, Recruits Hit
08/30/06
General: Iraqi security needs 12-18 mos.
Iraqi Pipeline Blast Kills 50; Gonzales Consults in Capital
Militias will disarm as Iraqi forces gain muscle: US general
08/29/06
Iraqi forces regain control of city
Iraq strikes peace deal with militia as 155 killed
Progress made in curbing Iraq disorder
Iraqi Troops Battle Shiite Militiamen In Southern City
Dozens killed in Iraq oil blast
08/28/26
Iraqi ancient Assur city in danger of erosion
08/27/06
Iraqi Museum Sealed Against Looters
Kidnappers free captured Iraqi MP
08/26/06
Sunni hostage MP freed as tribal chiefs make peace pledge
Iraq militant group says holding Turkish hostage-Web
08/25/06
Assyrians protest for the release of a former retired Assyrian General in Georgia
Iraqis cautious over Baghdad security crackdown
Insurgents kill nine as Iraq violence rages
U.S. tanks shell Iraqi mosque after attack: military
08/24/06
Threatened teachers fleeing the country
3 U.S. soldiers among fatalities in Iraq
Iraqis used to cleaning up after carnage
08/23/06
Torkman, Arabs Demand International Observation To Poll On Kirkuk
Number of U.S. troops in Iraq climbs
Beefed up flour to tackle anaemia
08/22/06
Iraq-Displaced
Marked rise in number of displaced families in IraqBaghdad Journal: Why the U.S. Can't Stop the Killing
08/21/06
Three years after attack, UN soldiers on
Baghdad bustling again after lockdown
08/20/06
20 Shiite pilgrims shot to death in Iraq
Texting, ring tones all the rage in Iraq
Baghdad's Walls Are Closing In
08/19/06
7 Shiite pilgrims gunned down in Baghdad
Analysis: Frustration dogs Iraq politics
Bush: Iraq War keystone in terror fight
08/18/06
Click here for the latest Articles
The Story Behind The Iraq Study Group
Stay hidden to stay alive in Iraq
Splitting Iraq into three- solution or fresh nightmare?
Indications and Lessons…Between the Past and the Present
We Want an Assyrian* Government before Iraq is Lost between
The Assyrians: ignored among fears of an Iraqi civil war
Trying to contain the disaster in Iraq
Sargon Dadesho ... Enough with the fluctuation
The Assyrian aspirations for justice
Assyrians Experience Slow Cultural Revival In Southeastern Turkey
A New Assyrian Tragedy Recorded By
(the Kurdish democratic experiment)
Samuel Huntington, enough prattling
The End of Christianity in Iraq
Remembering Mar Yousip Khnanisho
Photo Album of Mar Yousip Khnanisho
Iraq civilian toll spikes to nearly 6,000
The forgotten Christians of Mesopotamia
Kurds Block Assyrians, Shabaks From Police Force in North Iraq
Click here for the latest Top Story
November 22, 2006
Threats and extortion force Caritas Mosul to shut down
One of the Caritas workers explains what happened: they wanted money for the resistance to US occupation. The Church and Christians are the preferred target of those who want easy money. A theology course for lay people is holding out: it has transferred from Mosul to a safer area.
Mosul (AsiaNews) – Caritas Mosul has been forced to close its doors because of continued intimidation and insistent requests to fund the activities of a local Muslim group. AsiaNews heard this from one of its workers, who was compelled to leave the city for fear of reprisals. The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, worked as a social researcher for the Catholic organization from 1995 to September, when the “agony” of Caritas started.She said: “At the beginning of the month, our leader received a phone call at home from a Muslim group that was well aware that the telephone at the centre was not working as it needed to be repaired.” The young woman continued: “The group did not identify itself by name. First the caller recited a verse from the Koran and then asked us to give the group money to support resistance to the American occupation of Iraq.” The person talking took care to stress that he “knew all the activities of the centre perfectly well, the number of employees, their precise identity and he did not want to hear any fuss. We tried to explain to him that as Caritas, we do not have funds for our activities except donations from believers who help us to support only those who are most in need.” But there was nothing to be done: “They told us that what we were saying was untrue and that the Church could give money, because the Church is rich.”
Finally, after several phone calls, the Muslim group issued an ultimatum for the delivery of “as high a sum of money as possible”.
In the week when negotiations were taking place, however, there was the address of Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg and the exploited controversies over his alleged offence to Islam. “They were very angry and they called us, asking to speak to the bishops of the city to tell them they should express disapproval of the pope’s words in Germany.”
When the threats became more and more insistent, the director told the group Caritas could only give 1,000,000 Iraqi dinars, but no more. “Naturally this was not enough and they asked us to increase the sum but after the umpteenth refusal on our part, they were convinced and accepted the offer. We had no choice, but since then the centre had to close as it was impossible to continue in such conditions.”
Since the start of the war, Caritas in Mosul never stopped its activities, not even for one day. The organization used to look after homeless people and 90% of its work catered for Muslims. The work of Caritas continues in Baghdad, in Christian villages of Nineveh and in Kurdistan.Although the Iraqi Church is facing increasing trials, it has not lost hope of pressing ahead with its mission. Insecurity prevailing in the area obliged the diocese of Mosul to suspend a theology course for lay people that was being held in the city. But sources of the Chaldean community said this was only a temporary problem as the course will be transferred to a neighouring safer village
November 21, 2006
An Assyrian politician assassinated in Iraq
The head of the Independent al-Syrian Assembly movement Mr. Eshoo Majeed Hadaya was attacked and shot to death by unknown assailants as he left the headquarters of his movement in Baghdida – The Nineveh plain. More details will be posted as they become availableMay he rest in peace
Assyria National Assembly © 2006 All rights reserved
English translation Assyria National Assembly
Source: Ankawa.com
November 20, 2006
Baghdad: priest missing, feared kidnapped
There has been no news of Fr Doglas, Chaldean parish priest of St Elias Church, since yesterday morning. The Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad says it is “very likely” he has been kidnapped. Fears are growing that these criminal moves are aimed at striking more active religious figures in a bid to discourage Christians from remaining in Iraq.
Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Christians in Baghdad fear yet another priest has been kidnapped. Fr Doglas Yousef Al Bazy - 34 years, Chaldean – left his parish yesterday morning and has not yet returned home.
The alarm was raised swiftly throughout Iraq and the diaspora via the Internet and SMS: the young priest’s community and leaders of Iraq’s Chaldean Church believe it is “highly likely” that he has been kidnapped. If their misgivings are proved right, this would be the latest in a long list of kidnappings targeting Christian clerics. Not only gangs of common criminals are suspected to be behind the spate of kidnappings.
The Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad, Mgr Shleman Warduni, told AsiaNews: “Patriarch Delly and I have activated our contacts, hoping they would give us hope but so far we have had no replies. That he was kidnapped is a very likely hypothesis, but there is no confirmation as yet.”
Fr Doglas was ordained some 10 years ago. Mgr Warduni described him as a man who was “very active in the diocese, committed especially to accompanying youth.” He is secretary of the Institute for Religious Teaching and also of the Council of Church leaders in Baghdad. A few months ago, he was put in charge of St Elias Parish.
The Auxiliary Bishop said: “There are many theories about why Christians are kidnapped: crime, religious fanaticism, money, the intent to create division among the people.” He continued: “We hope that those who have taken him have a conscience and understand that we priests desire only to bring the Good News to people and to work for the good of all Iraqis. We are for the unity of Iraq and we ask to be able to work together with our co-nationals to rebuild our country and to attain peace and security.” However, among the Chaldean community, the idea is increasingly taking hold that threats and kidnappings are not carried out indiscriminately, but that they “target those people who are most involved in the Christian community, the younger and more courageous ones, almost as if to give a warning to those who persist in hoping that they will be able to continue living in the country.”
AsiaNews sources said the situation in the country has become “unbearable”. Christians rarely leave their homes but they are not the only ones to suffer. They say: “No place is safe anymore. Even workplaces are no longer safe. In recent months, bakers have been killed in Baghdad just because they formed typical rhomboidal shaped loaves, in the vague semblance of a cross.”
Finally, Mgr Warduni made an appeal to the likely kidnappers of Fr Doglas: “If you have a conscience and believe in God, do not do him any ill and free him as soon as possible, safe and sound.”
-----------------------
November 19, 2006
A young Assyrian Christian murdered
The young man Arkan Sabah Yousif Kassab was abducted on November 22,2006
He was murdered the same day that he was abducted but his body wasn't found until few days ago
Condolences will be accepted in his uncle's home in the Karada district in Baghdad
May he rest in peace and may his family be consoled
Assyria National Assembly© All rights reserved
Source: News agencies
______
November 12, 2006
An Assyrian Christian school director murdered
According to a Mandaean website a Christian school director and a Mandaean teacher were murdered at the hands of a group of murderers
The two victims were killed at Agadir School for girls in al-Sayyidiya district in Baghdad
May they rest in peace and may their families be consoled
Assyria National Assembly Translation and Media Desk
Assyria National Assembly © All rights reserved
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006
The Assyrian Seyfo in Hakkari and Urmia - 3/3
By Prof. David Gaunt
Captured documents show that the Kurdish chiefs termed this the era of the "Great Jihad."
Mar Shimun managed to get a message through to
the German consul in Mosul stating his fears that
the Muslims were preparing a "general massacre
of Christians and have partially already begun"
and the consul pleaded with the German ambassador to pressure the Ottoman government to intervene with the Kurdish sheiks. Instead, the Kurdish tribes were soon reinforced by Ottoman troops
retreating from Iran after having lost the crucial
battle of Dilman on May 1. Assyrian and Armenian volunteers, under Antranik's command,
played a decisive role and this increased the desire
for revenge in the defeated army. The Assyrian tribes halted the Ottoman troops that had expected to march to Mosul along the Zab River in order to
regroup, so instead they had to go west over the
high mountains. On the way they slaughtered
whatever Christian village lay in their path.
According to many reports the Assyrian
tribes issued on May 10 a sort of "declaration of
war" against the Ottoman government, although
the text of this document is not known. It may
have been in the form of a solemn pledge from the
various tribes to combine forces and to coordinate efforts with the Russian army that was
advancing just to the north. However, the Hakkari area is large, with very difficult terrain and it was obviously not easy to decide to concentrate,
as it would mean abandoning some of the most
peripheral tribal areas. This affected especially
the Jilu tribe as its homeland was along the eastern border, and the forces were to center around
Diz with its precipitous mountains. Resistance to
the idea of concentrating the tribes resulted in the
fatal mistake of assassinating the Jilu leadership at
the worst possible moment.
The Ottoman government planned a major
invasion of Hakkari to begin in early June. The
chief commander was Haydar Bey, the vali of
Mosul, who took fresh troops armed with field
artillery and machine guns up from the south.
Haydar's plan involved a coordinated effort with
three Kurdish tribal leaders: the emir of Berwar
striking from the west against Lizan and Lower
Tiyari, Said agha from Julamerk going against
Upper Tiyari, and Suto agha of Oramar attacking
the Jilu and Baz tribes. The invasion began on
June 11 with attacks on the large Assyrian villages of Ashita and Sarespido. The population fled. The Jilu had a very difficult time as a great
number of their men were away working, and they
suffered heavy losses at first. The new chief,
Malik Qambar, retreated with his tribe into Iranian territory on June 20 and most of the warriors
volunteered to join the Russian army.
The other tribes gathered around Mar
Shimun and held off the advancing Ottoman invasion, but had to pull back into the high mountains,
abandoning their villages and destroying bridges.
Many warriors died in suicidal attempts to delay
the enemy, and although the Assyrians won most
16
skirmishes they were outnumbered and outgunned. By the end of June the Assyrians were in
the high mountains where there was little food
and no shelter. Expected help from the Russians
did not materialize. On the order ofTalaat pasha,
Haydar Bey imprisoned Mar Shimun's younger
brother Hormuz and threatened to execute him if
the tribes did not surrender, a demand that the Assyrian leader rejected whereupon his brother was
executed in late July. Running out of ammunition
and perceiving their impossible situation, the
tribes fought their way into Iran arriving on the
Salmas plain, where a huge refugee camp was set
up. The survivors that arrived with Mar Shimun
numbered between 20 and 25,000. Some 10,000
had been left behind. This figure refers to the Tiyari, Baz and Tkhuma tribes but does not include
the survivors or losses from the Jilu who had fled
earlier. Although help came from Russian, Armenian and American relief agencies, the Salmas plain proved to be a bad place for a refugee camp
and many died of malnutrition, infected water and
disease during the following winter.
The Assyrian warriors entered Russian
military service and participated in several campaigns. They formed into two detachments one
commanded by David (d. 19??), the brother of
Mar Shimun, the other by Agha Petros (d.1932),
who had been the main intermediary between the
Assyrians and the Russians before the war. Assyrian troops became particularly noted for a concerted effort to regain the Hakkari Mountains in
1916, but although they badly mauled the Oramar
Kurdish tribe and destroyed its fortress, they
could not affect a permanent takeover.
When the Bolshevik Revolution occurred
in November 1917, the Russians withdrew from
the war. In Urmia the Assyrian volunteers took
over defenses and most of the ammunition and
supplies left by the Russians and some of the antiBolshevik officers remained as advisors. From
mid-February 1918 a council of Christian representatives led by Mar Shimun ruled the town but had difficulty working together. During this time
the Assyrians were approached by the French and
British governments to coordinate with the allied
military campaigns. In return they were given
assurances of receiving their own independent state after the war. The Assyrians agreed to work
with the British, but this step proved a disaster.
The British wanted the Assyrians to combine with
the local Kurdish warlord Simko of the Shikak
tribe. At a meeting on February 25, 1918 Simko
had Mar Shimun and many other Assyrians
gunned down. Members of the Iranian government, who feared the creation of an Assyrian
state, instigated this deed. After this Agha Petros
became the unquestioned military and political
commander. But the Assyrians were isolated
from contact with the Allies.
A further British-related catastrophe came
when Agha Petros was ordered to bring his division south to join a British detachment. Suddenly
in August, during his absence Urmia was once
again surrounded and attacked by a combination
of a large Ottoman army and Kurdish tribesmen.
Defenseless, almost the entire Assyrian population of the town, which had swelled with refugees to about 70,000 persons, began a several hundred
mile long march south towards Hamadan, where
they expected protection from the British. Along
the way the column of refugees was under incessant attack by Kurds.
Thus the genocide perpetrated in Urmia
and Hakkari threw together two important groups
of Assyrians. Many events conspired to defeat
Assyrian aspirations to maintain their relatively
independent community. But the most significant
was the conspiracy between the Ottoman forces
under the CUP and the Kurdish tribes on both the
Ottoman and Iranian sides to destroy this ancient
community.The Red Crescent: Six thousand families left to Dohuk (Nohadra)
October 17, 2006
ANA- Translation and Media deskThe head of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society in Dohuk, Abd al-Majeed Shukri Qasim mentioned that six thousand families from different Iraqi governorates fled to Dohuk during the recent weeks due to sectarian violence. He added that most of these families are Christians who trace roots to the area.
The Society distributed aid to these families which included blankets, tents, food rations, school bags, household items, women’s clothing, and shoes for children.
ANA - Note: These Christian families trace their roots to their ancestors the Assyrians.Arabic source: Sot al-Iraq
------
November, 05 2006
120 Assyrian bodies discovered in Turkey (Genocide victims
Turkish Gendarmerie has instructed local villagers of a southeastern region to keep silence about a mass grave, discovered on October 17, that might contain remains of Armenian Genocide victims. According to a Kurdish newspaper published in Turkish Ulkede Ozgur Gundem, villagers from Xirabebaba (Kuru) were digging a grave for one of their relatives when they came across to a cave full of skulls and bones of reportedly 40 people. The Xirabebaba residents assumed they had uncovered a mass grave of 300 Armenian villagers massacred during the Genocide of 1915. They informed Akarsu Gendarmerie headquarters, the local military unit, about the discovered remains. Turkish army officers, according to the Kurdish newspaper, instructed the villagers to block the cave entrance and make no mention of the remains buried in it. The officers said an investigation would take place. The newspaper reported on the developments and the Turkish military's attempt to hide the news. Journalists, who had arrived to obtain more information, were denied access to the cave.As the mass burial made news, local Gendarmerie made another visit to the villagers. The latter were pressed to report the name of the person who leaked the mass burial discovery to the press. The villagers were warned not to show anyone directions to the cave. The victims of the mass grave, according to Sodertorn University History Professor David Gaunt, are most likely the 150 Armenian and 120 Assyrian males from the nearby town of Dara (now Oguz) killed on June 14, 1915
Christians of Mosul fearful
October 17, 2006
ANA – Translation and Media deskFollowing the beheading of Father Boulos Eskandar, the Christians of Mosul are fearful that more violence will be directed against them and even though violence increased in Mosul since the arrival of the multi-national forces to the city but the Christians are more fearful because of their faith.
According to Father Hanna Gabriel (48 years) the violence against the Christians isn’t limited to the armed groups but also includes some members of the Iraqi police, and he asserted that a police patrol stopped a school bus belonging to the Church, checked the identities of the students and spoke of Christianity in an inappropriate manner.The Christian students believe that the threats which they receive usually escalate more during Ramadan and that is why many of them refrain from attending school during that month. The Churches in Mosul these days lack attendance when they used to be crowded with believers on Sundays because people are fearful of being targeted during Mass.
The continuous violence against the Christians in Iraq compelled them to leave in great numbers and the French news agency had mentioned that there were 35.000 Christians in Syria alone with most of them being in Jarmana, Bazra and Saidnaya.
ANA – Note: The majority of Christians in Iraq are Assyrians.
Arabic source: Sot al- Iraq
An Assyrian Dr. abducted and killed in Baghdad
ANA- Translation and Media desk
October 11, 2006A group of armed terrorists abducted and later killed Dr. Joseph Fraidon Potros as he was heading to his work at the Baaqouba hospital. The victim was born in 1950; he was a skin and venereal diseases specialist. Dr. Potros was an example of integrity both at the hospital and his private clinic at al-Sinaa’a area in Baghdad. Many a time he wouldn't charge the patients examination fees.
May he rest in peace and may his family be consoled.Arabic source: Bethsuryoyo.com
A priest abducted in Mosul - Iraq
ANA- Translation and Media desk
October 09, 2006
Father Boulos Eskandar the parish priest of St. Aprim Church in Mosul was kidnapped in al-Sinaeeya area by an armed group and taken to an unknown area.
There has been no news about him till the moment of this news.
Arabic source: Ankawa.comTwo explosions near St. Mary’s Church in Baghdad
ANA- Translation and Media desk
October 08, 2006The first explosion occurred at 6: 30 a.m. but it didn’t cause any human casualties but there were material damages to the walls of the Church and parked cars.
The second explosion resulted in the death of a police officer, and wounding some bystanders. St. Mary’s of the Sacred Heart Church is located on Palestine Street.
Arabic source: Faddy Kamal Yousif, Ankawa.com
A car bomb in a Christian district in Baghdad
ANA- Translation and Media desk
October 04th, 2006Kamp Sara district in Baghdad was a scene to another horrific car bomb which resulted in the killing of 14 people and wounding others, among the dead is Yusuf Falah Zara who was killed as he was passing by going to his shop.
The victim was born in 1961, married and a father of two girls and a boy with the eldest being less than 14 years old. The victim’s body will be sent for burial in his home town of Alqosh.
The latest victim joins the scores of innocents who have been killed to date in Iraq.
May he rest in peace and may his family find consolation.ANA – Note: The district where the explosion took place is inhabited by a majority of Assyrians.
Sources: Nirgalgate.com
Ankawa.com30 Christian families receive threats to leave Mosul
Mosul - IraqANA- Translation and Media desk
September 30th, 2006An official source at the Nineveh joint co-ordination centre mentioned that 30 Christian families living in Mosul received threats of being in danger and were given 72 hours to leave. The source (asked to remain anonymous) mentioned that these threats came through cell phone text messages. The families had notified the co-ordination centre of these messages which had the same tone "to leave the city within 72 hours or be killed". He mentioned that the authorities began their investigation in order to determine those responsible for such threats.
Mosul has a Christian population of 150 thousand people and these families receive every now and then threats to leave the city which made hundreds of them to leave Mosul and Iraq.
The Christian families live in the districts of al-Nour, al-Sa'aa, al-Muthanna, and al-Arabi which are in Mosul's centre; they also inhabit the areas of Telkef, Telskuf, al-Hamadaniya, Bartilla, Ba'ashiqa, and the Plain of Nineveh outside the city.Note: ANA - The inhabitants of the cities referred to are Assyrians.
Arabic source: Aswat al Iraq (Voices of Iraq)
Ibrahim Zanoun
This time in Mosul
Another Church attack
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:47:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ashur Peyour
Subject: Another Church BombedSecond attack in three days against a Chaldean church
26 September, 2006
IRAQhttp://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7321
Baghdad (AsiaNews) – The start of the month of Ramadan in Iraq was marked by violence but also by significant openness by al Sistani towards the Vatican. Yesterday, two churches, one in Baghdad and another in Mosul, were struck. Recently, the country has seen an escalation of attacks against Christians, thought by some to be the reaction of radical Muslims to the speech of the pope in Regensburg. However, religious leaders, among them al Sistani, have shown solidarity and understanding towards the Vatican. Moreover, the representative of the highest religious exponent of Iraqi Shiites has expressed the desire to be able to visit the Pope.Yesterday morning at 11.15am local time, armed men attacked the Chaldean Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, firing at least 80 shots on the building. “Thank God there was no Mass at the time,” one member of the community told AsiaNews, “so no one was killed or injured, there was just some damage done to the eastern part of the building and a few broken windows.”
The atmosphere in the city is very tense. Recently, Muslim militias threatened the Catholic bishop and priests that unless they publicly condemned the address of the pope at the University of Regensburg within 72 hours, Christians would be killed and churches burned down. In recent years, some churches, shrines and even the bishop’s house were the target of terrorist attacks. For fear of further attacks, the bishop had posters put up to say that “neither Iraqi Christians nor the pope want to destroy ties with Muslims”.
Defying the prevailing atmosphere of terror, last night, Chaldean Catholics left their homes to participate in Vespers Mass in the very church that had been attacked. “Our faith is a challenge to violence. The militias fear us because our faith is stronger than their bullets,” a Christian told AsiaNews.
Yesterday morning in Baghdad, two bombs went off outside the Assyrian Orthodox Church of St Mary in the central neighbourhood of Karrada. The attackers put a bomb under the parish priest’s car. The blast, that took place at 9.30am, drew many people, including some from the parish. Immediately afterwards another bomb went off close by, injuring many people and killing a watchman of the church.
Some think these bombs targeted Christians in the wake of the controversy surrounding the pope’s speech in Regensburg. But in recent days, Orthodox communities distanced themselves from the words of the pope, putting up posters outside their churches expressing their disagreement with him. Some Catholic figures said the attack on St Mary’s Church was much more likely a vendetta based on ethnic-religious motives: the Assyrian Orthodox Patriarch recently visited communities in Kurdistan and probably the bombs were meant to be a threat by Sunni or Shiite militias against such ties with Kurds.
The lecture of Benedict XVI in Regensburg was misunderstood by the media as being an attack on Islam. Although the pope explained the true meaning of his words several times over, bitter and threatening criticisms continue to come from many sectors of Islam. In Iraq, it is fundamentalist and political Muslim splinter groups that are reacting violently to the pope’s address. Recently, the Secretary of the Nunciature in Baghdad, Mgr Thomas Halim Abib, met religious representatives of Islam and offered them an Arabic translation of the words of the pope, so Muslim leaders would be able to understand the true meaning of what was said. Muslim religious leaders undertake the task of informing their communities. Mgr Thomas told AsiaNews that in these days, the official representative of the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani, the undisputed leader of Shiite Islam in Iraq, visited the Vatican Nunciature twice to express friendship and solidarity. The representative of al Sistani accepted the explanations rendered by the Nunciature and spread them among all Iraqi Shiite communities, expressing respect for the Holy See “that has always been close to the Iraqi people”. The representative of the grand ayatollah also said he wished to go to Rome to visit Pope Benedict XVI.
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7321********
Twin terrorist attacks on St. Mary’s Cathedral in Baghdad
Baghdad – Sunday 24/09/2006ANA- Translation and Media desk
The St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Ancient Church of the East in al-Riyadh district was the scene of a double terrorist attack this morning, first a hand grenade was thrown and a few minutes later a car bomb exploded. At 10:00 a.m. as the faithful were leaving the Church following Sunday’s Mass, an explosive charge exploded under the care of Father Ezaria Warda which was parked near the main door (some eye witnesses mentioned that a hand grenade was thrown at the car from a passing by car) The first explosion resulted in some casualties which made people gather and a police patrol arrived at the scene, moments later a car which was parked on the other side of the narrow street exploded which caused the number of casualties to rise.
The losses so far in the Baghdad hospitals are:
1- One of the Church’s guards Joseph Eshoo was killed.
2- The second victim is a child whose identity isn’t known yet.
3- 17 wounded, 9 are of the faithful who belong to the church; two of them are in critical condition.
4- The leg of one of the wounded was amputated and the doctors were obliged to remove the eye of another victim, four citizens and four police officers were injured as well.
The Cathedral is the headquarters of H.H. Mar Addai II, the Church’s Patriarch as well as Fathers Ezaria Warda and Zaia Edwar but they weren’t hurt. The Cathedral is also a home for the Church’s magazine The Horizon. In addition to the human losses, the Cathedral was badly damaged, five cars were burnt, and others were damaged.
Ancient Church of the East/Information Section
Arabic source: Ankawa.com
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ANA- Translation and Media deskThe killing of an Assyrian police officer in Mosul
September 21, 2006
The Assyrian police officer Ziad Waadallah Jamil was assassinated in Mosul in the area of al-Sa’aa. The victim worked for the Nineveh police force and he was attacked by unknown assailants as he was leaving home to go to work. The martyred police officer was born in Mosul in 1981 and he was single.
This latest assassination is one of a series of criminal acts against the Iraqi police officers in Mosul, Baghdad and other Iraqi cities which have become scenes for continuous violence and killings.Arabic source: Nirgalgate.com
September 16, 2006
Second Assyrian Christian Killed in Retaliation for Pope's Remarks
Baghdad (AINA) -- Sources at Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital announced on Saturday the death of a second Assyrian Christian who fell victim to multiple stab wounds at the Assyrian market in the Doura District. His murder comes a day after the attack on Syriac Catholic Church in the Ashar district of central Basra where another man was murdered.
Christian Leaders in Iraq have asked their parishioners to be extremely cautious and not to leave their homes as a new group called the young Brigades of Fundamental Islam ' has distributed papers announcing the slaying of all Iraqi Christians in three days if the Pope does not Apologize.
According to the insurgency-loyal news website, islammemo.cc, the bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church has also taken his plea to the central government of Iraq and the coalition forces in hopes that they intervene and offer protection to the native Christians.
September 16, 2006
Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks
September 09, 2006
Mr. Salem Qeryo Soulaqa (41) was killed on 9/9/2006 when a bomb exploded in Baghdad near the Mansour Mosque. His ten year old son who was with him at the time was injured and is currently lying in the hospital in critical condition. Salem Qeryo Soulaqa, from Kirkuk, was born in 1965. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Mr. Khalil Oraha Aram (19) of Batnaya was killed when a car bomb exploded in the Za’faraniya district. He was born in 1987 in Batnaya which is 20 km north of Mosul.
Our deepest condolences to the Soulaqa family and Aram family for their loss.
Source:Beth Suryoyo Assyrian (Othuroyo) Forum
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An Assyrian kidnapped in Basra
ANA-Translation and Media desk
September 09, 2006Jalal al-Najjar (Abu Ala’a) was kidnapped by an organized armed gang as he was heading to his work. The gang is specialized in abducting people with money in the city.
Mr. al-Najjar is the owner of a carpentry factory in the industrial area five Km away from the city.
The kidnappers demanded the family to pay a ransom of $150.000 dollars to spare his life, but it’s been understood that the family doesn’t have that kind of money. It’s been a week since the abduction and as of the moment the case remains unsolved and without a decisive response from the local authorities who are supposed to capture the offenders.Arabic source: Ankawa.com
Mohammad Jawad Al-dakhiliTranslation note: Hundreds of Assyrian families were forced to leave Basra as the security situation worsened with the increase in violence and crimes.
Over the years some Assyrians adopted Arabic or other names in order to blend with the majority.------------
Two explosions in front of al-Za’afaraniya Church in Baghdad
ANA-Translation and Media deskSeptember 08, 2006
Baghdad- Two explosives which were hidden in a bag went off in front of al-Za’afaraniya Church injuring the guards who were taken to the hospital, the explosion also caused damage to the church walls.
Arabic source: Ankawa.com
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Southfield interpreter dies in Iraq bombing
Jerry Wolffe
The Oakland press
September 06, 2006A 23-year-old Southfield man who served as an interpreter with U.S. military forces in Iraq was killed in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint near Ramadi, his family said Tuesday. Saher Georges* died Aug. 29 during his second tour of duty as an interpreter.
May he rest in peace and may his family find comfort and consolation.* The piece doesn’t mention that the victim was an Assyrian
An Assyrian victim of an explosion
ANA- Translation and Media desk
September 07, 2006The victim Manaf Hosni Yousif an engineer was killed in Baghdad on August 31st as he was returning home from work. The victim was born in the Assyrian village of Bersive (Bersawa) North of Iraq in 1978.
May he rest in peace and may his family find comfort and consolation.
Arabic source: Ankawa.comAn Assyrian assassinated in Baghdad
ANA-Translation and Media deskSeptember 05th, 2006
Baghdad-IraqThe victim Sabah Alton Hermiz Homa was assassinated by a terrorist group.
The latest victim was from the Assyrian village of Karemlash in the North of Iraq.
May he rest in peace and may his family find comfort and consolation.Arabic source: Ankawa.com
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An explosion in an Assyrian home in Midyat
ANA-Translation and Media desk
Tor Abdin - Turkey
September 01st, 2006On August 30th, 2006 an unknown man threw a grenade on the house of Mr. Gabro Shiven in Midyat, south-eastern Turkey, fortunately the family wasn’t home at the time.
In a letter sent by Mr. Simon Barmano President of the Assyrian Clubs Federation in Sweden and according to reliable sources a police officer named Etac Tivik is behind what happened and that Tivik has been responsible for other such operations and pressure tactics aimed at forcing the Assyrians in the area to leave. Mr. Barmano mentioned in his letter another incident which had taken place two days earlier, when Mr. Yusuf Aye and Issa Dugan were assaulted and beaten up by some Muslim extremists in the centre of Midyat, when an individual from the Jamo family tried to blackmail Mr. Dugan from Australia into giving him $7000 dollars and when he refused, 15-20 people surrounded the two men and started to beat them up in front of some by standers who didn’t dare to save them.In 2002 the Paulos and Afram Hidari family members were severely beaten up near the city hall of Midyat when they tried to submit a complaint against the Jamo family who had occupied their property and lands, the Hidari family were given the choice of either leaving or being killed.
On July 23rd, 2005, Mr. Zaki Oun a Swedish Assyrian and his son David were shot in the legs by Kehraman Yildiz a senior member in the ruling Turkish party AKP.
The president of the Assyrian Clubs Federation in Sweden adds in his letter that no one was neither arrested nor subjected to any legal procedures, which gives the green light to the aggressors to commit more horrible actions enabling them to reach their goals of controlling the Assyrian lands and properties in the region.
There are already other villages in Tor Abdin which have been confiscated by the Turkish authorities and Muslim extremists who tend to use violence against those who try to return the properties to their rightful ownersMr. Barmano concludes his letter by reminding the European States that while Turkey is trying to negotiate its way into the European Union, the conditions of the Assyrians and other Christians in Turkey haven’t improved, and that Turkey’s empty promises throughout its history make every one aware of the danger that Turkey is following its old path.
It is worth noting that many of the Assyrians who had fled Turkey to Europe during the 1960’s and 1970’s because of persecution have begun to return to their towns and villages but they are faced with many dangers specially in what concerns security.
Arabic source: Ankawa.com
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Iskandar BiqashaGhassan Ezzat Roufa Haido another Assyrian victim
ANA – Translation and Media desk
August 21st, 2006
On August 17th, 2006 some cowards shot the victim just outside the capital Baghdad and in broad day light only because he worked for the oil company.
The victim was born in Baghdad in 1968 and was always afraid that he would be killed because of his job; that’s why he was hesitant to get married.
It’s to be noted that four of his colleagues were killed with him in the same brutal, ugly and barbaric manner.
May he rest in peace and may his grieving family be consoled.Source: Ankawa.com
Assyrians threatened yet again following the Gondkosa murder
August 16, 2006
Nohadra – IraqFrom: Sami Zaia
Source: Nirgalgate.comOn August 15th, 2006 a group of Assyrians were threatened with guns by some Kurds near the outskirts of Bamarni to the north-east of Sarsink.
One of the Assyrians who were threatened with a 9mm hand gun mentioned that a group of four Kurds obstructed the path of some Assyrian families on their way back from a picnic in Dokri region where they were celebrating the commemoration of St. Mary. The incident escalated to killing threats because of an earlier skirmish with the same group of Kurds who were intoxicated and tried to harass the women.
Another man said:” We were surprised with four persons holding guns obstructing our way, and we knew immediately that they were the same individuals with whom we had a skirmish earlier. They pulled one of the young men out of the car and put the gun to his head threatening to kill him; that’s when we intervened to prevent them from killing him, then we called the police who came and arrested them, but we don’t know what sort of procedure will be taken against them”.ANA – Translation and Media desk
----------------------A priest abducted in Dora - Baghdad
ANA- Translation and Media desk
Baghdad-Dora- August 15, 2006
A group of terrorists abducted a priest in the city of Dora, in the Asia neighborhood. A phone call by a local source to one of our reporters had mentioned that Father Siroup who serves in the Church of Asia was abducted around 7:15 today.It’s worth mentioning that the city of Dora is overwhelmed at present by sectarian gangs. These same gangs had bombed several Churches, kidnapped and killed many of our Christian brothers, causing hundreds of them to flee Dora.
ANA – The city of Dora is the home for an Assyrian majority in Baghdad.
Source: Buratha News Agency
----------------------Two Assyrians murdered in Mosul
ANA- Translation and Media desk
Mosul- August 12, 2006This after noon, Saturday, August 12, 2006 two of our young men were killed by terrorists in their store in the area of al-Masaref (the banks) in Mosul. The two victims were shot in cold blood before eye witnesses; they were identified as brothers Akram Aprim Shleemon and Aziz Aprim Shleemon. The killers then stole the victims’ car and fled. The martyrs worked in the carpentry and furniture business, they were known for their good morals by every one who knew them.
May their souls rest in heavenly peace and may those killers face the fate which is waiting for them in history's muck-heap.Source: Ankawa.com
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Akhiqar Korkis Audish Killed by a kurdish Thug
On the 8th of August, at around 8 pm, Akhiqar Korkis Audisho born 1962, resident of the village Cossa in Assyria (northern Iraq) under fire by a Kurdish thug named Cherdl Tahir Khalid from the village of residence Akmali with two other members of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), while tending his herd.
The martyr is married and father of three daughters. He was pronounced dead, at 3:00 am on this day after surgery at Nohdra City Hospital (Dohuk).
May God bless the soul of our martyr and rest him in peace.
Original Source: AGC
ANA- Translation and Media Desk
August 08, 2006
----------------An Assyrian merchant killed in Baghdad
August 08, 2006The body of Bassam Shimon Hakim, 33 years old was found two days ago in the institute of Forensic Medicine (Maa’had al-Tibb al- Adli). Hakim was shot to death a week after he was abducted by an armed group in front of his liquor stores; the victim was a well known merchant for selling liquor in Baghdad.
The relatives of the deceased had paid a ransom of $30000 U.S. in addition to a BMW car estimated at $10000 U.S. which was parked near his stores when he was abducted.
The victim’s relatives were awaiting his release but the kidnappers left him a dead body in one of Baghdad’s streets to be found by the police where he was placed at the institute of Forensic Medicine. The victim was from Alqosh*, 48 km north of Mosul and a father of two little children, the oldest being three years old.*Alqosh follows the district of Telkef in the governorate of Nineveh.
Source: Ankawa.com
ANA – Translation and Media desk
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Zakho – Assyria/ North Iraq
Turkish incursion reported inside Iraqi bordersZakho, July 27, Some 200 Turkish soldiers accompanied by village rangers crossed the borders into north Iraq and encroached for two kilometers before pulling back inside the Turkish side of the borders, a military source in Zakho said on Thursday.The intruding force penetrated the area of Hork near Kesta border village in Nohadra governorate “At 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday we were informed that about 200 Turkish soldiers and some village rangers encroached for two kilometers inside the borders. Several hours later, they withdrew to the Turkish borders,” reason for the incursion.Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said the Turkish artillery shelled last night the areas of Kely, Senat, Zaweta, Kely Besagha, Kloc and Alansh in Zakho.The shelling did cause casualties but it started fires in the woodsANA – Translation and Media Desk.-----------------------------
A car bomb near a church in Mosul
According to a security source, a car bomb which was defused was meant to explode today at noon near a Church in Mosul.
The Director of the police command operations in the Nineveh Governorate mentioned to the Voices of Iraq independent News Agency, that the car was booby-trapped and parked near the church of Mar Girgis [St. George],located in the al-Arabi district north-east of the city.
The source explained that the information reached the police command post "about a suspicious car in the above mentioned area, upon confirming information a team proceeded to diffuse the car bomb".
The source pointed out that the group which diffused the car bomb is made up of a joint team of American forces and the joint co-ordination centre.
ANA – Translation DeskOriginal source in Arabic
*ANA- Translation Desk
July 24, 2006
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