Kurdish Attack on Assyrians Leaves Two Dead in Syria
Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:35 amDerik, Syria (AINA) -- Two Kurds lost their lives and another four were seriously injured as a Kurdish youth gang attacked Assyrian youth in the city of Derik, in the traditionally Assyrian section of northeast Syria, 10 kilometers from the Turkish border. The fighting broke out on the first of April. According to Assyrians living in Derik a group of young Kurdish men assaulted Assyrian girls and challenged a group of young Assyrian men to face them.
The Kurdish and Assyrian youth met outside of town to settle the score, equipped with knives and metal bars. In the fighting that followed two Kurdish boys were killed and four seriously injured. No Assyrians are reported to have been seriously injured or killed.
Syrian police stopped the fighting and called an army division from the area of Rmelan to take control of the town and impose a curfew. That did not stop the Kurdish inhabitants in Derik from retaliating by attacking and burning shops, houses and cars belonging to Assyrians. The Assyrians have remained in their homes for several days, afraid of sending their children to school.
Many Assyrians from northeast Syria suspect a hidden Kurdish agenda behind the attack. An Assyrian community leader from Derik says that the Kurdish leader in Iraq, Massoud Barazani, has secretly donated tens of million US dollars to the Kurdish inhabitants of Derik, urging them to drive out the remaining Assyrians in order to Kurdify the town. The plan is to make life difficult for the Assyrians so they will want to leave the area. Those that do not leave would be bought out with the money donated by Barazani.
The attack on the Assyrians of Derik comes just weeks after an Assyrian teacher at the local school was shot dead by an Arab from a tribe which is known to have intermarried with local Kurds. The Assyrians believe the two incidents are interconnected and aimed at driving out the remaining Assyrian population of the once totally Assyrian town.
Assyrian men and women living in European countries are in the process of donating money to help the Assyrian families that have been affected by these attacks.
The Kurdish and Assyrian youth met outside of town to settle the score, equipped with knives and metal bars. In the fighting that followed two Kurdish boys were killed and four seriously injured. No Assyrians are reported to have been seriously injured or killed.
Syrian police stopped the fighting and called an army division from the area of Rmelan to take control of the town and impose a curfew. That did not stop the Kurdish inhabitants in Derik from retaliating by attacking and burning shops, houses and cars belonging to Assyrians. The Assyrians have remained in their homes for several days, afraid of sending their children to school.
Many Assyrians from northeast Syria suspect a hidden Kurdish agenda behind the attack. An Assyrian community leader from Derik says that the Kurdish leader in Iraq, Massoud Barazani, has secretly donated tens of million US dollars to the Kurdish inhabitants of Derik, urging them to drive out the remaining Assyrians in order to Kurdify the town. The plan is to make life difficult for the Assyrians so they will want to leave the area. Those that do not leave would be bought out with the money donated by Barazani.
The attack on the Assyrians of Derik comes just weeks after an Assyrian teacher at the local school was shot dead by an Arab from a tribe which is known to have intermarried with local Kurds. The Assyrians believe the two incidents are interconnected and aimed at driving out the remaining Assyrian population of the once totally Assyrian town.
Assyrian men and women living in European countries are in the process of donating money to help the Assyrian families that have been affected by these attacks.
