Report: Kurdish fighters occupy Christian villages in Syria

October 06, 2016

Kurdish fighters are occupying historically Christian villages in northern Syria and recently destroyed homes in one village as part of a military training exercise, according to an Assyrian media report.

The villages had fallen under the control of the Islamic State before Kurdish forces entered the area. As belligerents in the Syrian Civil War who oppose the Syrian government as well as the Islamic State, Kurdish forces now control one-fifth of Syria and have established Rojava, a semi-autonomous state.

The Kurdish fighters are part of the US-backed YPG (People’s Protection Units), the major armed group in Rojava.

In September, Kurdish forces fired bullets into the home of a Syrian Catholic archbishop as part of a campaign of intimidation against Christians. Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, who is based in the northeastern Syrian city of Al-Hasakah, narrowly escaped being shot in the head.

 

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Further information:

• Assyrian villages in Khabour, Syria occupied by kurdish YPG-militia (Assyrian TV)
• Kurdish YPG ‘occupy’ Assyrian villages in NE Syria (World Watch Monitor)
• Syria: Kurdish soldiers loot Christian homes; archbishop escapes death (CWN, 9/22)