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146-704: Most of the territory is controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), which as part of the ongoing Rojava conflict , on 21 January 2014 declared democratic autonomy on the area of Al-Hasakah Governorate as the Jazira Region , the largest of the three original regions of AANES. During the Abbasid era, the area that makes this province used to be part of the Diyar Rabi'a administrative unit, corresponding to

292-560: A 9th-century BC Indo-European corruption of Assyria and had hitherto referred only to Assyria itself, also became applied to a region long known as Aramea / Eber Nari . During the Parthian Empire (150 BC-224 AD) and early Sassanid Empire (224 -650 AD) (when the land was renamed Assuristan ) a number of Neo-Assyrian kingdoms arose, and parts of northeast Syria became a part of the Neo-Assyrian state of Osroene until

438-682: A Kurdish-Assyrian autonomy movement emerged in Jazira. The demands of the movement were autonomous status similar to the Sanjak of Alexandretta , the protection of French troops, promotion of Kurdish language in schools and hiring of Kurdish officials. The movement was led by Michel Dome, mayor of Qamishli, Hanna Hebe, general vicar for the Syriac-Catholic Patriarch of Jazira, and the Kurdish notable Hajo Agha. Some Arab tribes supported

584-507: A brand gaining global recognition" by 2019. The territory around Jazira province of northeastern Syria is called Gozarto ( Classical Syriac : ܓܙܪܬܐ , romanized:  Gozarto ), part of the historical Assyrian homeland , by Syriac-Assyrians. The area has also been nicknamed Federal Northern Syria , and the Democratic Confederalist Autonomous Areas of Northern Syria . The first name of

730-801: A common history and ethnic identity , rooted in shared linguistic , cultural and religious traditions , with Assyrians in Turkey , Assyrians in Iraq and Assyrians in Iran , as well as with the Assyrian diaspora . Historically the related Arameans of Maaloula and Jubb'adin in Southwestern Syria were sometimes included under the term 'Assyrians', although those two particular Aramean communities in Syria speak Western Neo-Aramaic , in contrast to

876-539: A curriculum produced by the Kurdish-led government. Many Assyrians have rejected the new curriculum, stating that the curriculum is not recognized or accredited elsewhere, while the Syrian government-led curriculum is. There is also opposition by Assyrians against the curriculum produced by the region's administration, which some Assyrian leaders say has been an attempt to impose a Kurdish nationalist curriculum across

1022-643: A decade long history of farming. Already in 1921, the French wanted to develop the agricultural sector and over a feasibility study of the Union Economique de Syrie the region was seen profitable for the cotton production. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the agricultural expansion grew significantly. When the USA instated a control on cotton exports during the Korean War , the cotton production in

1168-631: A demanded ransom of $ 100,000. In early 2016, ISIL freed the remaining 42 hostages in exchange for an undisclosed ransom mediated by the Assyrian Church of the East . On 30 December 2015, 16 people were killed and 30 wounded when three blasts struck restaurants in the Assyrian district of Wusta in Qamishli. An IS-linked news agency, Amaq , said the group carried out the bombings. This prompted

1314-670: A few other small towns in Al-Hasakah Governorate . Most of the current population of Assyrians in Hasakah dates back to the French Mandate of Syria , when refugees from the now- Turkish areas north of present-day Syria (such as Tur Abdin ) were settled together with displaced Armenians who had survived the Assyrian genocide and Armenian genocide in the area by the authorities as part of an effort to promote economic development. Given preferential treatment on

1460-421: A former diplomat like me, I found it confusing: I kept looking for a hierarchy, the singular leader, or signs of a government line, when, in fact, there was none; there were just groups. There was none of that stifling obedience to the party, or the obsequious deference to the "big man"—a form of government all too evident just across the borders, in Turkey to the north, and the Kurdish regional government of Iraq to

1606-569: A history in the region dating perhaps as far back as the 25th century BC. They are a Syriac speaking community that traditionally belong to the Ancient Church of the East , Assyrian Church of the East , Syriac Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church . The modern Assyrians are native to "northern Iraq , southeastern Turkey , northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria ". First settled by Assyrians fleeing

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1752-784: A large strain on the region's economy . The autonomous region is ruled by a coalition pursuing a model of economy that blends co-operative and market enterprise, through a system of local councils in minority, cultural, and religious representation. Independent organizations providing healthcare in the region include the Kurdish Red Crescent , the Syrian American Medical Society , the Free Burma Rangers , and Doctors Without Borders . Since 2016, Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces have occupied parts of northern Syria through

1898-643: A light infantry militia formed in 2012 that are aligned to the Syrian Government . The militia is composed mainly of Assyrians, with a smaller number of Armenians in the group. GPF mainly clash with ISIL, although they have also been involved in clashes with Kurdish forces stationed nearby. The Syriac Military Council (MFS) are a militia of the Dawronoye ideology that are a component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and under

2044-553: A mandatory third language. There are ongoing disagreements and negotiations over curriculums with the Syrian central government, which generally still pays the teachers in public schools. In August 2016, the Ourhi Centre was founded by the Assyrian community in the city of Qamishli, to educate teachers in order to make Syriac-Aramaic an additional language in public schools in Jazira Region, which then started in

2190-511: A model for a federalized Syria as a whole, rather than outright independence. The region's administration has also been accused by partisan and non-partisan sources of authoritarianism , media censorship , forced disappearances , support of the Syrian government , Kurdification , and displacement. At the same time, the AANES has also been described by partisan and non-partisan sources as

2336-501: A series of military operations against the SDF. AANES and its SDF have stated they will defend all regions of autonomous administration from any aggression. Parts of northern Syria are known as Western Kurdistan ( Kurdish : Rojavayê Kurdistanê ) or simply Rojava ( / ˌ r oʊ ʒ ə ˈ v ɑː / ROH -zhə- VAH ; Kurdish: [roʒɑˈvɑ] "the West") among Kurds, one of

2482-554: Is estimated that 25,000 Kurds fled at this time to Syria. The French official reports show the existence of at most 45 Kurdish villages in Jazira prior to 1927. A new wave of refugees arrived in 1929. The mandatory authorities continued to encourage Kurdish immigration into Syria, and by 1939, the villages numbered between 700 and 800. French authorities were not opposed to the streams of Assyrians, Armenians or Kurds who, for various reasons, had left their homes and had found refuge in Syria. The French authorities themselves generally organized

2628-603: Is in all of Syria. Things are worse in the Kurdish controlled area. Our young men have to serve with the Kurdish military, and then with the Syrian military. That is why in Syria it is so rare to find young men, they are all leaving. After five years abroad, if they pay US$ 8,000 dollars they can return without their military service. We are losing an entire generation." Assyrians celebrate religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas , as well as feasts of saints venerated in their respective churches. All Assyrians celebrate Assyrian New Year , known as Ha b'Nison or Kha b'Nisan, on

2774-618: Is under joint YPG-Syrian Army control. On 6 September 2018, during a meeting of the Syrian Democratic Council in Ayn Issa , a new name for the region was adopted, the "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria", encompassing the Euphrates, Afrin, and Jazira regions as well as the local civil councils in the regions of Raqqa, Manbij, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. During the meeting, a 70-member "General Council for

2920-687: Is working on a major extension of the fibre optic cable network in southern Jazira Region. After the establishment of the de facto autonomous region, the Center of Art and Democratic Culture, located in Jazira Region, has become a venue for aspiring artists who showcase their work. Among major cultural events in the region is the annual Festival of Theater in March/April as well as the Rojava Short Story Festival in June, both in

3066-603: The Assyrian diaspora who are of Syrian-Assyrian heritage. They live primarily in Al-Hasakah Governorate , with a significant presence in Hasakah city and the cities of Qamishli , Malikiyah , Ras al-Ayn , and Qahtaniyah , as well as in Tell Tamer and nearby villages. Some have migrated to Damascus and other western cities beyond the border of their indigenous Mesopotamia at the Euphrates River . They share

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3212-822: The Assyrian genocide and then the Simele massacre , there are over 30 Assyrian villages on the Khabur river in Syria. According to a 1994 report they are: Tell Tawil, Tell Um Rafa, Tell Um Keff, Tell Kefdji, Tell Djemaa, Tell Tamer , Tell Nasri, Upper Tell Chamran, Lower Tell Chamran, Tell Chamran, Tell Hafian, Tell Talaa, Tell Maghas, Tell Massas, Abu Tine, Tel Goran , Fouedate, Dimchij, Kabar Chamie, Tell Balouet (Dezn), Tell Baz, Upper Tell Rouman, Lower Tell Rouman, El-Kharita, Tell Chame, Tell Wardiat, El-Makhada, Taal, Tell Sakra, El-Breij, Arbouche, and Tell Hormiz. About 9,000 ethnic Assyrians moved from northern Iraq to join already extant Assyrian populations in northeastern Syria following

3358-700: The ISIL , only 23 Assyrian and Armenian families remain in the city of Raqqa . Christian bibles and holy books have reportedly been burned by ISIL militants. On 23 February 2015, ISIL abducted 232 Assyrians from villages near Tell Tamer in the Khabur valley. According to US diplomat Alberto M. Fernandez, of the 232 of the Assyrians kidnapped in the ISIL attack on the Assyrian Christian farming villages on

3504-586: The Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party and the Assyrian Democratic Party attempted to work within the system, hoping to bring about changes through soft pressure. In general, parties that openly represented certain ethnic and religious minorities were not allowed to participate in elections, but their politicians were occasionally allowed to run as Independents. Some Kurdish politicians won seats during

3650-607: The Mongol and Timurid invasions and subsequent massacre of Assyrians , it was left with only a scant permanent population. In the centuries that followed, a number of nomadic and semi-nomadic Arabic - and Kurdish -speaking tribes wandered the area with their livestock into the 20th century, when most of them were forced to settle by governmental policies. When the Ottoman Empire conducted ethnic cleansing against its Christian populations , Kurds were responsible for most of

3796-761: The Northeastern Neo-Aramaic spoken by Assyrians proper. Another difference between the two related communities is that the Assyrian identity in Syria (as in Iraq) is usually seen as inseparable from being Christian and even adhering to specific churches. In contrast, the Aramean identity can also encompass Muslim Arameans, as in the case of the Arameans of Jubb'adin and the pre- Syrian civil war village (now destroyed) of Bakh'a . The inhabitants of both of these villages are overwhelmingly Muslim, although

3942-548: The Ottoman Empire , large Kurdish-speaking tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from Anatolia . The largest of these tribal groups was the Reshwan confederation, which was initially based in Adıyaman Province but eventually also settled throughout Anatolia. The Milli confederation, mentioned in 1518 onward, was the most powerful group and dominated the entire northern Syrian steppe in

4088-782: The Siege of Kobanî , and in the YPG's Tell Abyad offensive of summer of 2015, the regions of Jazira and Kobanî were connected. After the YPG victory over ISIL in Kobanî in March 2015, an alliance between YPG and the United States was formed, which greatly worried Turkey, because Turkey stated the YPG was a clone of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which Turkey (and the U.S. and the E.U.) designate as terrorists . In December 2015,

4234-583: The Simele massacre of 1933. They settled in the Jazirah near Tall Tamir on the upper Khabur River. The French established this Assyrian settlement with the assistance of the League of Nations, and in 1942 it became an integral part of Syria. The Assyrian settlement on the Khabur valley consists of about 20 villages, primarily agricultural. They have faced severe economic pressures over the years, despite owning their own irrigated lands, and some of them immigrated to

4380-669: The Syriac Union Party . MFS have been involved in numerous offensives alongside the YPG, including some in northern Iraq ( Nineveh & Sinjar ). The Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces are the female brigade of the MFS and assume guard roles in the Assyrian communities of northeast Syria. Sutoro are the police wing of the Syriac Military Council and have been active in Syria from 2012 onwards. Sutoro police

4526-491: The Syrian Democratic Council has adopted a new name for the region, naming it the "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" (NES) ( Kurdish : Rêveberiya Xweser a Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyeyê ; Arabic : الإدارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا ; Classical Syriac : ܡܕܰܒܪܳܢܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܝܳܬ݂ܰܝܬܳܐ ܠܓܰܪܒܝܳܐ ܘܡܰܕܢܚܳܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܰܐ , romanized:  Mdabronuṯo Yoṯayto l-Garbyo w-Madnḥyo d-Suriya ; Turkish : Kuzey ve Doğu Suriye Özerk Yönetimi ) also sometimes translated into English as

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4672-730: The Syrian Democratic Council was created. On 17 March 2016, at a TEV-DEM-organized conference in Rmelan the establishment the Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria was declared in the areas they controlled in Northern Syria. The declaration was quickly denounced by both the Syrian government and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces . In March 2016, Hediya Yousef and Mansur Selum were elected co-chairpersons for

4818-648: The Syrian Government and others with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces . With the onset of the Syrian Civil War , Assyrians have formed numerous military forces in order to protect their communities. These range from military groups to police forces concentrated in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, mainly in Qamishli and Khabur. These militias include: Gozarto Protection Force (GPF), or Sootoro, are

4964-539: The Syrian elections in 1990 . The government also recruited Kurdish officials, in particular as mayors, to ease ethnic relations. Regardless, northern Syrian ethnic groups remained deliberately underrepresented in the bureaucracy, and many Kurdish majority areas were run by Arab officials from other parts of the country. Security and intelligence agencies worked hard to suppress dissidents, and most Kurdish parties remained underground movements. The government monitored, though generally allowed this "sub-state activity" because

5110-488: The al-Nusra Front and Jabhat Ghuraba al-Sham . It also eclipsed rival Kurdish militias, and absorbed some government loyalist groups. According to researcher Charles R. Lister, the government's withdrawal and concurrent rise of the PYD "raised many eyebrows", as the relationship between the two entities was "highly contentious" at the time. The PYD was known to oppose certain government policies, but had also strongly criticised

5256-585: The "Self-Administration of North and East Syria", encompassing the Euphrates, Afrin, and Jazira regions as well as the local civil councils in the regions of Raqqa, Manbij, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. Northern Syria is part of the Fertile Crescent , and includes archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, such as Tell Halaf . In antiquity, the area was part of the Mitanni kingdom, its centre being

5402-607: The 18th century, five Kurdish tribes existed in northeastern Syria. The demographics of this area underwent a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century. Some Circassian, Kurdish and Chechen tribes cooperated with the Ottoman ( Turkish ) authorities in the massacres of Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia , between 1914 and 1920, with further attacks on unarmed fleeing civilians conducted by local Arab militias. Many Assyrians fled to Syria during

5548-428: The 1920s was estimated at 20,000 people, out of 100,000 inhabitants, with the remainder of the population being Christians (Syriac, Armenian, Assyrian) and Arabs. Following Syria's independence , policies of Arab nationalism and attempts at forced Arabization became widespread in the country's north, to a large part directed against the Kurdish population. The region received little investment or development from

5694-536: The 1920s was estimated at 20,000 people. Starting in 1926, the region witnessed another huge immigration wave of Kurds following the failure of the Sheikh Said rebellion against the Turkish authorities . Tens of thousands of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in Syria, and as usual, were granted citizenship by the French mandate authorities. This large influx of Kurds moved to Syria 's Jazira province. It

5840-541: The 1950s. The threatening of the closure of schools not complying with this resulted in protests erupting in Qamishli. A deal was later reached in September 2018 between the region's authorities and the local Syriac Orthodox archbishopric, where the two first grades in these schools would learn the region's Syriac curriculum and grades three to six would continue to learn the Damascus approved curriculum. While there

5986-476: The 1st of April each year to celebrate the turn of the new year in the ancient Assyrian calendar. Assyrian New Year festivities have previously been outlawed in Syria. The majority of Assyrians in Syria adhere to both the East and West Syriac Rite. These include the following churches: The presence of the Chaldean Catholic Church dates back to the 16th century when Assyrians from Diyarbakir migrated to Aleppo . The Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Aleppo , under

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6132-512: The 2014 Constitution of North and East Syria guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press . As a result, a diverse media landscape has developed in the region, in each of the Kurdish , Arabic , Syriac-Aramaic and Turkish languages of the land, as well as in English, and media outlets frequently use more than one language. Among the most prominent media in the region are Hawar News Agency and ARA News agencies and websites as well as TV outlets Rojava Kurdistan TV, Ronahî TV , and

6278-473: The 2016/17 academic year. According to the region's Education Committee, in 2016/2017 "three curriculums have replaced the old one, to include teaching in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac." In August 2017 Galenos Yousef Issa of the Ourhi Centre announced that the Syriac curriculum would be expanded to grade 6, which earlier had been limited to grade 3, with teachers being assigned to Syriac schools in Al-Hasakah , Al-Qahtaniyah and Al-Malikiyah . At

6424-406: The Arabs and Kurds in the region are Sunni Muslim. Between 20 and 30% of the people of Al-Hasakeh city are Christians of various churches and denominations (majority Syriac Orthodox ). Until the beginning of the 20th century, al-Hasakah Governorate (then called Jazira province) was a “no man’s land” primarily reserved for the grazing land of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes. During the late days of

6570-569: The Assad-government are the Sootoro forces stationed in northeast Syria. In early 2016, Sootoro forces set up checkpoints in the Assyrian-controlled districts of Qamishli due to increasing terrorist attacks targeting Assyrians in the city. Members of Asayish, the security-wing of the YPG, approached the checkpoints and demanded they be dismantled. When Sootoro refused, Asayish fired at Sootoro soldiers, causing several casualties on both sides. The Syrian Civil War initially put much strain on Assyrians in Syria. As of November 2014, due to occupation by

6716-451: The Assyrian communities of northeast Syria, as well as working in concert with Asayish to safeguard the region. Khabour Guards , as well as Nattoreh are a militia tied to the Assyrian Democratic Party and are active in the Khabur Valley of Syria. Founded in 2012, Khabour Guards have been involved in SDF campaigns and in 2019, merged with the Syriac Military Council to form the Syriac-Assyrian Military Council. The main group aligned with

6862-503: The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" was formed. In December 2015, during a meeting of the region's representatives in Al-Malikiyah , the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) was established to serve as the political representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces . The co-leaders selected to lead the SDC at its founding were prominent human rights activist Haytham Manna and TEV-DEM Executive Board member Îlham Ehmed. The SDC appoints an Executive Council which deal with

7008-508: The Christian movement in many towns and villages. Local Kurdish tribes who were allies of Shammar tribe sacked and burned the Assyrian (Syriac) town of Amuda. In 1941, the Assyrian (Syriac) community of al-Malikiyah was subjected to a vicious assault. Even though the assault failed, Assyrians (Syriacs) felt threatened and left in large numbers, and the immigration of Kurds from Turkey to the area converted al-Malikiya, al-Darbasiyah and Amuda to Kurdish-majority cities. Between 1932 and 1939,

7154-403: The Gozarto Protection Forces to set up checkpoints in the district as the Syrian government, nor the Kurdish-led DFNS could guarantee their safety. The decrease of political repression after government withdrawal and the inclusion of Assyrian political and military movements in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has led to greater inclusion of Assyrians in the governance of

7300-524: The Iranian Parthians and Sasanians , then by the Byzantines and successive Arab Islamic caliphates. In course of these regimes, different groups settled in northern Syria, often contributing to population shifts. Arabic tribes have been present in the area for millennia. Under the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC), different tribal groups and mercenaries were settled in northern Syria as military colonists; these included Arabs and possibly Kurds. Jan Retso argued that Abai, an Arab settlement where

7446-584: The Jazira Region from the outset, in August 2016, the Ourhi Centre in the city of Qamishli was started by the Assyrian community, to educate teachers in order to make Syriac-Aramaic an additional language to be taught in public schools, which then started with the 2016/17 academic year. With that academic year, states the region's Education Committee, "three curriculums have replaced the old one, to include teaching in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac." The region, however, has been accused of closing down 14 Assyrian schools that have refused to adhere to

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7592-449: The KCK, as differences emerged between the PKK and PYD leadership. The PYD was determined to maintain the regional autonomy and hoped for a continued alliance with the United States. In contrast, the PKK central command was now willing to restart negotiations with Turkey, distrusted the United States, and emphasized the international success of its leftist ideology over the survival of Rojava as administrative entity. The political system of

7738-426: The KNC, who have different ideological aspirations than the TEV-DEM coalition. On 28 December 2016, after a meeting of the 151-member Syrian Democratic Council in Rmelan , a new constitution was resolved; despite objections by 12 Kurdish parties, the region was renamed the "Democratic Federation of Northern Syria", removing the name "Rojava". Since 2012, when the first YPG pockets appeared, Turkey had been alarmed by

7884-416: The Khabur river valley in modern-day Jazira Region. It was then part of Assyria , with the last surviving Assyrian imperial records, from between 604 BC and 599 BC, were found in and around the Assyrian city of Dūr-Katlimmu . Later it was ruled by different dynasties and empires – the Achaemenids of Iran , the Hellenistic empires who succeeded Alexander the Great , the Artaxiads of Armenia , Rome ,

8030-401: The Kurdish Supreme Committee established a joint leadership council to administer the towns. Soon YPG also gained control of the cities of Al-Malikiyah , Ras al-Ayn , al-Darbasiyah , and al-Muabbada and parts of Hasakah and Qamishli . Doing so, the YPG and its female wing, the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), mostly battled factions of the Free Syrian Army , and Islamist militias like

8176-401: The PKK maintained a clandestine presence in the region. In 2002, the PKK and allied groups organized the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) to implement Öcalan's ideas in various Middle Eastern countries. A KCK branch was also set up in Syria, led by Sofi Nureddin and known as "KCK-Rojava". In an attempt to outwardly distance the Syrian branch from the PKK, the Democratic Union Party (PYD)

8322-435: The PKK remained much less popular among Kurds in al-Hasakah Governorate , where other Kurdish parties maintained more influence. Many Syrian Kurds developed a long-lasting sympathy for the PKK, and a large number, possibly more than 10,000, joined its insurgency in Turkey. A rapprochement between Syria and Turkey brought an end to this phase in 1998, when Öcalan and the PKK were formally expelled from northern Syria. Regardless,

8468-432: The PKK's shift toward anarchism , but also includes various "tribal, ethno-sectarian, capitalist and patriarchal structures." The region has a "co-governance" policy in which each position at each level of government in the region includes a "female equivalent of equal authority" to a male. Similarly, there are aspirations for equal political representation of all ethno-religious components – Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians being

8614-404: The PYD announced that it had written a constitution for an "autonomous Syrian Kurdish region", and planned to hold referendum to approve the constitution in October 2013. Qamishli served as first de facto capital of the PYD-led governing body, which was official called the "Interim Transitional Administration". The announcement was widely denounced by both moderate as well as Islamist factions of

8760-486: The Rodî û Perwîn Library in Kobani (May 2016). For Assyrian private confessional schools there had at first been no changes. However, in August 2018 it was reported that the region's authorities was trying to implement its own Syriac curriculum in private Christian schools that have been continuing to use an Arabic curriculum with limited Syriac classes approved by the Assad regime and originally developed by Syrian Education Ministry in cooperation with Christian clergy in

8906-406: The SDF as reasons. The protests resulted in deaths and injuries. It has been stated that the new political structures created in the region have been based on top-down structures, which have placed obstacles for the return of refugees, created dissent as well as a lack of trust between the SDF and the local population. Qamishli initially served as the de facto capital of the administration, but

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9052-418: The SDF. On 9 October, the Turkish Air Force launched airstrikes on border towns. On 6 October President of the United States Donald Trump had ordered United States troops to withdraw from northeastern Syria where they had been providing support to the SDF. Journalists called the withdrawal "a serious betrayal to the Kurds" and "a catastrophic blow to US credibility as an ally and Washington's standing on

9198-412: The Seleucid king Antiochus VI Dionysus was raised, was located in northern Syria. By the 3rd century, the Arab tribe of the Fahmids lived in northern Syria. By the 9th century, northern Syria was inhabited by a mixed population of Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkic groups, and others. Kurdish tribes in the area often operated as soldiers for hire, and were still placed in specific military settlements in

9344-443: The Syrian Jazira. The Kurdish tribes gradually settled in villages and cities and are still present in the modern governorate). The demographics of northern Syria saw a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century when the Ottoman Empire ( Turks ) conducted ethnic cleansing of its Armenian and Assyrian Christian populations and some Kurdish tribes joined in the atrocities committed against them. Many Assyrians fled to Syria during

9490-426: The Syrian government arbitrarily deprived ethnic Kurdish citizens of their citizenship. The largest such instance was a consequence of a census in 1962, which was conducted for exactly this purpose. 120,000 ethnic Kurdish citizens saw their citizenship arbitrarily taken away and became stateless . This status was passed to the children of a "stateless" Kurdish father. In 2010, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated

9636-405: The Syrian opposition. Following a deadly PYD repression of opposition demonstrations in Amuda, the Kurdish National Council withdrew from the Kurdish Supreme Committee. Unopposed, the PYD's political coalition, Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), controlled the Kurdish Supreme Committee until the latter was dissolved by the cantonal Democratic Autonomous Administration. On 19 July 2013,

9782-429: The Syrian opposition. In January 2014, three areas declared their autonomy as cantons (now Afrin Region, Jazira Region and Euphrates Region) and an interim constitution (also known as social contract ) was approved. The Syrian opposition and the Kurdish parties belonging to the KNC condemned this move, regarding the canton system as illegal, authoritarian, and supportive of the Syrian government. The PYD countered that

9928-622: The Syrian police and the supporters of the movement. As a result, the governor and a significant portion of the police force fled the region and the rebels established local autonomous administration in Jazira. In August 1937 a number of Assyrians in Amuda were killed by a pro-Damascus Kurdish chief. In September 1938, Hajo Agha chaired a general conference in Jazira and appealed to France for self-government. The new French High Commissioner, Gabriel Puaux, dissolved parliament and created autonomous administrations for Jabal Druze, Latakia and Jazira on 8 July 1939 which lasted until 1943. The Governorate has

10074-441: The Turkish pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah, the YPG's parent organisation, the PYD, provided the PKK with militants, explosives, arms and ammunition. In August 2016, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield to prevent the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from linking Afrin Canton (now Afrin Region) with the rest of Rojava and to capture Manbij from the SDF. Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces prevented

10220-519: The US, where there exists a large community. In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need , bishop Jules Boutros, of the Syriac Catholic Church , said most young Syriacs were trying to get out of Syria. "Most of our young people are trying to get out of Iraq and Syria. (...) Things are worse in Syria, because the war is still going on. Military service is the biggest issue for our young men, because you have to serve for 9 or 10 years. After that time, if you return alive, you need to start from zero. This

10366-780: The YPG looting Assyrian homes in 2015. The attackers were allegedly arrested and tried in a regional court, resulting in 20 years prison for the two killers, 4 and 1 years respectively for the other two attackers. In November 2015, sixteen Assyrian and Armenian civic and church organizations issued a joint statement protesting Kurdish expropriation of private property. The statement accuses the PYD of human rights violations, expropriation of private property, illegal military conscription and interference in church school curricula. Kurds in Syria have been accused of silencing Assyrian critics of their administration, usually using Assyrian proxy forces such as Sutoro to intimidate these critics. On September 30, 2018, prominent Assyrian writer Souleman Yousph

10512-552: The administration of the region stated that "none of our projects are financed by the regime". Assyrians in Syria Assyrians in Syria ( Syriac : ܣܘܪ̈ܝܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ , Arabic : الآشوريون في سوريا ) also known as Syriacs are an ethnic and linguistic minority that are indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia , the north-eastern half of Syria. Syrian-Assyrians are people of Assyrian descent living in Syria , and those in

10658-504: The aforementioned ethnicities. Today, Arabs comprise the largest demographic group and mostly live in the city of al-Hasaka and its south and east countryside, with smaller presence in the north and west countryside. Kurds are the second largest group, with thousands living in villages and towns in the north, northeast, and northwest countryside. Assyrians live mostly in the north and northeast regions of al-Hasaka, especially in Tell Tamer but also in Qamishli and al-Malikiyah . In 2013 there

10804-577: The area's governing body later relocated to Ayn Issa . Article 8 of the 2014 constitution stipulates that "All Cantons in the autonomous regions are founded on the principle of local self-government. Cantons may freely elect their representatives and representative bodies, and may pursue their rights insofar as it does not contravene the articles of the Charter." The cantons were later reorganized into regions with subordinate cantons/provinces, areas, districts and communes. The first communal elections in

10950-426: The areas of Afrin , Jazira , Euphrates , Raqqa , Tabqa , Manbij , and Deir Ez-Zor . The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing Rojava conflict and the wider Syrian civil war , in which its official military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken part. While entertaining some foreign relations , the region is neither officially recognized as autonomous by

11096-519: The atrocities against Assyrians. At the onset of the 20th century, Kurdish tribes cooperated with the Ottoman authorities in the genocides against Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia . Many Assyrians from Hakkari settled in Syria after they were displaced and driven out by Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century. During the 1930s and 1940s, many Assyrians resettled in northeastern Syrian villages, such as Tel Tamer , Al-Qahtaniyah , Al Darbasiyah , Al-Malikiyah , Qamishli and

11242-640: The attack "no surprise" because Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had for months warned that the presence of the YPG on the Turkish-Syrian border despite the Northern Syria Buffer Zone was unacceptable. An unintended consequence of the attack was that it raised the worldwide popularity and legitimacy of the northeastern Syrian administration, and several PYD and YPG representatives became internationally known to an unprecedented degree. However, these events caused tensions within

11388-479: The autonomists while others sided with the central government. In the legislative elections of 1936, autonomist candidates won all the parliamentary seats in Jazira and Jarabulus, while the nationalist Arab movement known as the National Bloc won the elections in the rest of Syria. After victory, the National Bloc pursued an aggressive policy toward the autonomists. In July 1937, armed conflict broke out between

11534-595: The autonomists. The French forcibly cracked down on both sides as they grew increasingly violent, and the movement for autonomy soon failed. Later on, in 1957, the Assyrian Democratic Organization was set up in Syria by center-left intellectuals. Though officially and incorrectly designated as Arabs by the Syrian Arab Nationalist Baathist government, the Assyrians are a distinct pre-Arab ethnic group with

11680-556: The banks of the Khabur River in Northeast Syria, 51 were children and 84 women. "Most of them remain in captivity with one account claiming that ISIL is demanding $ 22 million (or roughly $ 100,000 per person) for their release." On 8 October, ISIL released a video showing three of the Assyrian men kidnapped in Khabur being executed. It was reported that 202 of the 232 kidnapped Assyrians were still in captivity, each one with

11826-512: The basis of their Christian religion by the French, they soon formed most of the new urban elite in the region. An additional influx of Eastern Assyrians began to resettle along the Khabur River in 1933 after the massacres of Assyrians in newly independent Iraq (see Simele massacre ) forced the flight. These were refugees twice over—originally from the highlands of Hakkari , they had initially sought refuge amongst other Assyrians in Iraq in

11972-506: The bimonthly magazine Nudem . A landscape of local newspapers and radio stations has developed. However, media agencies often face economic pressure, as was demonstrated by the closure of news website Welati in May 2016. In addition, the autonomous regions have imposed some limits on press freedom, for example forcing the press to get work permits. These can be cancelled, thereby curtailing the ability of certain press agencies to operate. However,

12118-507: The birth of some of the earliest civilizations in the world, including those of Akkad , Assyria , Aram , the Hurrians and Amorites . The most prominent archaeological sites are: Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria ( AANES ), also known as Rojava , is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria . It consists of self-governing sub-regions in

12264-420: The border areas in al-Hasakah Governorate started to have a Kurdish majority, while Arabs remained the majority in river plains and elsewhere. In 1939, French mandate authorities reported the following population numbers for the different ethnic and religious groups in al-Hasakah governorate. The population of the governorate reached 155,643 in 1949, including about 60,000 Kurds. These continuous waves swelled

12410-775: The central government and laws discriminated against Kurds owning property, driving cars, working in certain professions and forming political parties. Property was routinely confiscated by government loansharks. After the Ba'ath Party seized power in the 1963 Syrian coup d'état , non-Arab languages were forbidden at Syrian public schools. This compromised the education of students belonging to minorities like Kurds, Turkmen, and Assyrians. Some groups like Armenians, Circassians, and Assyrians were able to compensate by establishing private schools, but Kurdish private schools were also banned. Northern Syrian hospitals lacked equipment for advanced treatment and instead patients had to be transferred outside

12556-673: The city of Qamishli, and the Afrin Short Film Festival in April. The Jazira Region is a major wheat and cotton producer and has a considerable oil industry. The Euphrates Region suffered most destruction of the three regions and has huge challenges in reconstruction, and has recently seen some greenhouse agriculture construction. The Afrin Region has had a traditional specialization on olive oil including Aleppo soap made from it, and had drawn much industrial production from

12702-629: The constitution was open to review and amendment, and that the KNC had been consulted on its drafting beforehand. From September 2014 to spring 2015, the YPG forces in Kobanî Canton, supported by some Free Syrian Army militias and leftist international and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) volunteers, fought and finally repelled an assault by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during

12848-538: The economy, agriculture, natural resources, and foreign affairs. General elections were planned for 2014 and 2018, but this was postponed due to fighting. Under the rule of the Ba'ath Party , school education consisted of only Arabic language public schools, supplemented by Assyrian private confessional schools. In 2015, the region's administration introduced primary education in the native language (either Kurdish or Arabic) and mandatory bilingual education (Kurdish and Arabic) for public schools, with English as

12994-545: The establishment of a federal system of government as the Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria ( Kurdish : Federaliya Demokratîk a Rojava – Bakurê Sûriyê ; Arabic : الفدرالية الديمقراطية لروج آفا – شمال سوريا , romanized :  al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Rūj ʾĀvā – Šamāl Suriyā ; Classical Syriac : ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܠܓܙܪܬܐ ܒܓܪܒܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ , romanized:  Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto l'Gozarto b'Garbyo d'Suriya ; sometimes abbreviated as NSR). The updated December 2016 constitution of

13140-432: The executive committee to organise a constitution for the region, to replace the 2014 constitution. Yousef said the decision to set up a federal government was in large part driven by the expansion of territories captured from Islamic State: "Now, after the liberation of many areas, it requires us to go to a wider and more comprehensive system that can embrace all the developments in the area, that will also give rights to all

13286-544: The extent of these restrictions differed greatly from area to area. By 2016, Kobani Canton was the least restrictive, followed by Jazira Canton which closely monitored and occasionally regulated press activity. Afrin Canton was the most restrictive, and many local reporters operated anonymously. Political extremism in the context of the Syrian Civil War can put media outlets under pressure; for example in April 2016

13432-647: The face of the Assyrian genocide before the attacks. In 1936, religious and political leaders—mainly from the Assyrian and Armenian Christian and Kurdish communities, with a few Arab groups as well—pressured the French authorities to give autonomous status to the Syrian Al-Jazira province (nowadays the Al Hasakah ) for its mixed-ethnic population, like in the Sanjak of Alexandretta , the Alawite State , or Jabal al-Druze . The push for autonomy

13578-459: The following: In the mid-1970s, it was estimated that 82,000 Syriac Orthodox lived in Syria. In 2018 Professor John Shoup stated that the Assyrian population in Syria formed 4% of the country's total population, making them the fourth largest ethnic group in the country. The Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), more commonly known as "Mtakasto", was founded in 1957 and serves as the oldest Assyrian political party in Syria. The principles of

13724-601: The four parts of Greater Kurdistan . The name "Rojava" was thus associated with a Kurdish identity of the administration. As the region expanded and increasingly included areas dominated by non-Kurdish groups, mostly Arabs, "Rojava" was used less and less by the administration in hopes of deethnicising its appearance and making it more acceptable to other ethnicities. Regardless, the polity continued to be called "Rojava" by locals and international observers, with journalist Metin Gurcan noting that "the concept of Rojava [had become]

13870-627: The genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area. Starting in 1926, the region saw another immigration of Kurds following the failure of the Sheikh Said rebellion against the Turkish authorities . While many of the Kurds in Syria have been there for centuries, waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in Syrian Al-Jazira Province , where they were granted citizenship by the French Mandate authorities . The number of Turkish Kurds settled in al-Jazira province during

14016-468: The genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area. During WWI and subsequent years, thousands of Assyrians fled their homes in Anatolia after massacres. After that, massive waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey due to conflict with Kemalist authorities and settled in Syria, where they were granted citizenship by the French Mandate authorities . The number of Kurds settled in the Jazira province during

14162-590: The government of Syria, state or other governments institutions except for the Catalan Parliament . The AANES has widespread support for its universal democratic , sustainable , autonomous pluralist , equal , and feminist policies in dialogues with other parties and organizations. Northeastern Syria is polyethnic and home to sizeable ethnic Kurdish , Arab , and Assyrian populations, with smaller communities of ethnic Turkmen , Armenians , Circassians , and Yazidis . The supporters of

14308-405: The groups to represent themselves and to form their own administrations". In July 2016, a draft for the new constitution was presented, based on the principles of the 2014 constitution, mentioning all ethnic groups living in Northern Syria and addressing their cultural, political and linguistic rights. The main political opposition to the constitution have been Kurdish nationalists , in particular

14454-553: The historical evidence suggests that they have only been Muslim since some point in the 1700s. During the Old Assyrian Empire (2000–1750 BC), Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC) and Neo Assyrian Empire (911–599 BC) much of, and often the entirety of the modern country of Syria , was under Assyrian rule, which founded in Northwestern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq ). The northeastern part of

14600-573: The infrastructure of the region on average experienced less destruction than other parts of Syria. In May 2016, Ahmed Yousef, head of the Economic Body and chairman of Afrin University, stated that at the time, the economic output of the region (including agriculture, industry and oil) accounted for about 55% of Syria's gross domestic product. In 2014, the Syrian government was still paying some state employees, but fewer than before. However,

14746-565: The initial civil uprising and civil war. Existing underground Kurdish political parties, namely the PYD and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), joined to form the Kurdish Supreme Committee (KSC). The People's Protection Units (YPG) militia was reestablished to defend Kurdish-inhabited areas in northern Syria. In July 2012, the YPG established control in the towns of Kobanî , Amuda and Afrin , and

14892-477: The land became an integral part of Assyria proper during the 2nd millennium BC. Thus the presence of originally Akkadian -speaking and later Eastern Aramaic -speaking Assyrians in the northeastern part of the modern country dates back over 4000 years, where they lived alongside a diverse set of other peoples such as Hittites , Hurrians and Amorites throughout the ages. Traces of the long era of Assyrian settlement can be seen at numerous archaeological sites across

15038-627: The larger groups being Arabs and Kurds in addition to a significant large number of Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians . The population of the governorate, according to the country's official census, was 1,275,118, and was estimated to be 1,377,000 in 2007, and 1,512,000 in 2011. According to the National Association of Arab Youth, there are 1717 villages in Al-Hasakah province: 1161 Arab villages, 453 Kurdish villages, 98 Assyrian villages and 53 with mixed populations from

15184-492: The late 1930s a small but vigorous separatist movement emerged in Qamishli. With some support from French Mandate authorities, the movement actively lobbied for autonomy directly under French rule and its separation from Syria on the ground that the majority of the inhabitants were not Arabs. Syrian nationalists saw the movement as a profound threat to their eventual rule. The Syrian nationalists allied with local Arab Shammar tribal leader and Kurdish tribes. They together attacked

15330-600: The linking of Rojava's cantons and captured all settlements in Jarabulus previously under SDF control. The SDF handed over part of the region to the Syrian government to act as a buffer zone against Turkey. Manbij remained under SDF control. In early 2018, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch alongside Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army to capture the Kurdish-majority Afrin and oust the YPG/SDF from

15476-645: The local government for the Kurdish-dominated areas in Afrin District , Ayn al-Arab District (Kobanî), and northern al-Hasakah Governorate was "Interim Transitional Administration", adopted in 2013. After the three autonomous cantons were proclaimed in 2014, PYD-governed territories were also nicknamed "the Autonomous Regions" or "Democratic Autonomous Administration". On 17 March 2016, northern Syria's administration self-declared

15622-471: The mid-3rd century AD. Christianity became established amongst the Assyrians as early as the 1st century AD, and the region of Athura became the birthplace of Eastern Christianity and Syriac literature , with the Assyrian Church of the East and Syriac Orthodox Church being founded in the region. After the Arab Islamic Conquest of the mid-7th century AD, Assyria/Athura/Assuristan

15768-500: The most democratic system in Syria, with direct open elections, universal equality , respecting human rights within the region, as well as defense of minority and religious rights within Syria. The region has implemented a new social justice approach which emphasizes rehabilitation , empowerment , and social care over retribution . The death penalty was abolished . Prisons house mostly people charged with terrorist activity related to ISIL and other extremist groups, and are

15914-603: The most sizeable ones. This has been compared this to the Lebanese confessionalist system, which is based on that country's major religions. The PYD-led rule has triggered protests in various areas since they first captured territory. In 2019, residents of tens of villages in the eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate demonstrated for two weeks, regarding the new regional leadership as Kurdish-dominated and non-inclusive, citing arrests of suspected ISIL members, looting of oil, lack of infrastructure as well as forced conscription into

16060-518: The nearby city of Aleppo due to the fighting in Aleppo city from 2012 to 2016. Price controls are managed by local committees, which can set the price of basic goods such as food and medical goods. It has been theorized that the Assad government had deliberately underdeveloped parts of Northern Syria in order to Arabize the region and make secession attempts less likely. During the Syrian Civil War,

16206-590: The new system because it encouraged tolerance and allowed Kurds and other minorities to be taught in their own languages, others have criticised it as de facto compulsory indoctrination. The federal, regional and local administrations in the region put much emphasis on promoting libraries and educational centers, to facilitate learning and social and artistic activities. Examples are the Nahawand Center for Developing Children's Talents in Amuda (est. 2015) and

16352-427: The next months, the crisis in Syria escalated into a civil war . The armed Syrian opposition seized control of several regions, while security forces were overstretched. In mid-2012 the government responded to this development by withdrawing its military from three mainly Kurdish areas and leaving control to local militias. This has been described as an attempt by the Assad regime to keep the Kurdish population out of

16498-644: The northern Syrian mountains. There existed a Kurdish elite of which Saladin , the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the Emir of Masyaf in the 12th century were part of. Under Saladin's rule, northern Syria experienced a mass immigration of Turkic groups who came into conflict with Kurdish tribes, resulting in clashes that wiped out several Kurdish communities. During the Ottoman Empire (1516–1922), large Kurdish-speaking tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from Anatolia . By

16644-472: The northern minorities including the Kurds rarely caused unrest with the exception of the 2004 Qamishli riots . The situation improved after the death of Hafez al-Assad and the election of his son, Bashar al-Assad , under whom the number of Kurdish officials grew. Despite the Ba'athist internal policies which officially suppressed a Kurdish identity, the Syrian government allowed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to set up training camps from 1980. The PKK

16790-618: The number of Kurds in the area who represented 30% of the Jazira population in a 1939 French authorities census. In 1953, French geographers Fevret and Gibert estimated that out of the total 146,000 inhabitants of Jazira, agriculturalist Kurds made up 60,000 (41%), semi-sedentary and nomad Arabs 50,000 (34%), and a quarter of the population were Christians. Among the Sunni Muslims, mostly Kurds and Arabs, there were about 1,500 Circassians in 1938. The inhabitants of al-Hasakah governorate are composed of different ethnic and cultural groups,

16936-532: The number of such "stateless" Kurdish people in Syria at 300,000. In 1973, the Syrian authorities confiscated 750 square kilometres (290 square miles) of fertile agricultural land in Al-Hasakah Governorate , which was owned and cultivated by tens of thousands of Kurdish citizens, and gave it to Arab families brought in from other provinces. In 2007, in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, 600 square kilometres (230 square miles) around Al-Malikiyah were granted to Arab families, while tens of thousands of Kurdish inhabitants of

17082-632: The parties represented in TEV-DEM and the KNC, several other political groups operate in northern Syria. Several of these, such as the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria , the Democratic Conservative Party , the Assyrian Democratic Party , and others actively participate in governing the region. The politics of the region has been described as having "libertarian transnational aspirations" influenced by

17228-406: The party are based around huyodo/khoyada, unity, and gained a foothold amongst western Assyrian youth. Gabriel Moushe Gawrieh , the current leader of the party, was detained by the Syrian government and imprisoned for 2 years, until his release in June 2016. Assyrians have been caught between different political sides from the onset of the Syrian Civil War with some Assyrian groups allying with

17374-409: The polity uses the name Democratic Federation of Northern Syria ( DFNS ) ( Kurdish : Federaliya Demokratîk a Bakûrê Sûriyê ; Arabic : الفدرالية الديمقراطية لشمال سوريا , romanized :  al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Šamāl Suriyā ; Classical Syriac : ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܕܓܪܒܝ ܣܘܪܝܐ , romanized:  Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto d'Garbay Suriya ). Since 6 September 2018,

17520-579: The premises of Arta FM ("the first, and only, independent radio station staffed and broadcast by Syrians inside Syria") in Amuda was threatened and burned down by unidentified assailants. In December 2018 the Rojava Information Center was established. During the Turkish military operation in Afrin , the KDP -affiliated Iraqi Kurdish Rudaw Media Network was also banned from reporting in

17666-690: The presence of PKK-related forces at its southern border and grew concerned when the YPG entered into an alliance with the US to oppose ISIS forces in the region. The Turkish government refused to allow aid to be sent to the YPG during the Siege of Kobanî. This led to the Kurdish riots , the breakdown of the 2013–2015 peace process in July 2015 and the renewal of armed conflict between the PKK and Turkish forces. According to

17812-557: The province increased eightfold. By 1960s, the province had the second largest amount of cultivated land in Syria per capita, but was still the lowest in terms of cultivable land per capita. Other economic branches are wheat and oil. Before the eruption of the Syrian Civil the province accounted for about half of the Syrian oil production. Al-Hasakah Governorate's ethnic groups include Kurds , Arabs , Syriac-Aramaic Christians ( Assyrians ), Armenians and Yazidis . The majority of

17958-633: The region is based on its adopted constitution, officially titled "Charter of the Social Contract". The constitution was ratified on 9 January 2014 and provides that all residents of the region shall enjoy fundamental rights such as gender equality and freedom of religion . It also provides for property rights . The region's system of community government has direct democratic aspirations. The Former diplomat Carne Ross observed in September 2015 in The New York Times : "For

18104-514: The region were held on 22 September 2017. 12,421 candidates competed for around 3,700 communal positions during the elections, which were organized by the region's High Electoral Commission. Elections for the councils of the Jazira Region, Euphrates Region and Afrin Region were held in December 2017 . Most of Afrin Region was occupied by Turkish-led forces in early 2018, though the administrative division continued to operate from Tell Rifaat which

18250-460: The region's administration state that it is an officially secular polity with direct democratic ambitions based on democratic confederalism and libertarian socialism promoting decentralization , gender equality , environmental sustainability , social ecology , and pluralistic tolerance for religious , cultural, and political diversity , and that these values are mirrored in its constitution , society, and politics, stating it to be

18396-478: The region. In April 2015, David Jendo, the leader of the Khabur Guards, was assassinated after being kidnapped alongside fellow commander, Elias Nasser. Both men were blindfolded and driven to a remote location, supposedly to have an urgent meeting with YPG leadership. Jendo and Nasser were then shot and David Jendo immediately died, while Elias Nasser was severely wounded. Jendo had publicly spoken against

18542-475: The region. Afrin Canton , a subdivision of the region, was occupied and over 100,000 civilians were displaced and relocated to Afrin Region's Shahba Canton which remained under SDF, then joint SDF- Syrian Arab Army (SAA) control. The remaining SDF forces later launched an ongoing insurgency against the Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces. In 2019, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring against

18688-577: The region. On 2 September 2019, the Iraqi Kurdistan -based Kurdistan 24 network had its license to work in the region withdrawn and had its offices confiscated by Rojava authorities. International media and journalists operate with few restrictions in the region, one of the only regions in Syria where they can operate with some degree of freedom. Internet connections in the region are often slow due to inadequate infrastructure. Internet lines are operated by Syrian Telecom , which as of January 2017

18834-538: The region. Important Assyrian cities in the region in ancient times include Til-Barsip , Carchemish , Guzana , Shubat-Enlil and Dur-Katlimmu . The northeast of modern-day Syria was a part of Achaemenid Assyria ( Athura ) which was a geographical area within the Achaemenid Empire in Mesopotamia between 546 and 332 BC, then Seleucid Syria (312-150 BC), when the name Syria which was originally

18980-968: The region. Numerous place names were arabized in the 1960s and 1970s. In his report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council titled Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria , the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights held that "Successive Syrian governments continued to adopt a policy of ethnic discrimination and national persecution against Kurds, completely depriving them of their national, democratic and human rights – an integral part of human existence. The government imposed ethnically-based programs, regulations and exclusionary measures on various aspects of Kurds' lives – political, economic, social and cultural." Kurdish cultural festivals like Newroz were effectively banned. In many instances,

19126-400: The region. The Syriac Union Party (SUP), committed to the secular leftist " Dawronoye " ideology, is a part of the governing Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) coalition. The Sutoro is an Assyrian police force, working in concert with the general Asayish police force with the mission to police ethnic Assyrian areas and neighbourhoods. While Syriac was an official language of

19272-409: The second half of the 18th century. Danish writer C. Niebuhr who traveled to Jazira in 1764 recorded five nomadic Kurdish tribes (Dukurie, Kikie, Schechchanie, Mullie and Aschetie) and six Arab tribes (Tay, Kaab, Baggara, Geheish, Diabat and Sherabeh). According to Niebuhr, the Kurdish tribes were settled near Mardin in Turkey, and paid the governor of that city for the right to graze their herds in

19418-562: The settlement of the refugees. One of the most important of these plans was carried out in Upper Jazira in northeastern Syria where the French built new towns and villages (such as Qamishli) were built with the intention of housing the refugees considered to be “friendly”. This has encouraged the non-Turkish minorities that were under Turkish pressure to leave their ancestral homes and property, they could find refuge and rebuild their lives in relative safety in neighboring Syria. Consequently,

19564-518: The south. The confident assertiveness of young people was striking. However, a 2016 paper from Chatham House stated that power is heavily centralized in the hands of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Abdullah Öcalan , a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader imprisoned in İmralı , Turkey, has become an iconic figure in the region whose ideology of democratic confederalism has shaped the region's society and politics. Besides

19710-411: The southern part of Upper Mesopotamia . Kurdistan did not include the lands of Syrian Jazira. The Treaty of Sèvres ' putative Kurdistan did not include any part of today's Syria. The French, following the Ottoman policies which encouraged the nomadic tribes to become sedentary, established several villages and towns since the beginning of their rule. Hasakah was founded in 1922, Qamishli in 1926. In

19856-443: The start of the academic year 2018–2019, the curricula in Kurdish and Arabic had been expanded to grades 1–12 and Syriac to grades 1–9. " Jineology " classes had also been introduced. In general, schools are encouraged to teach the administration's "uptopian doctrine" which promotes diversity, democracy, and the ideas of Abdullah Öcalan . Local reactions to the changes to the school system and curriculum were mixed. While many praised

20002-683: The tenure of the Bishop of Aleppo, Mar Antony Audo, was established in 1957 and is divided into 14 parishes. There are four dioceses of the Syriac Catholic Church in Syria including the: The Syriac Orthodox Church's patriarchal seat is located in Damascus after being transferred in 1959. The Syriac Orthodox Church in Syria is represented by the Patriarch, Ignatius Aphrem II , with three archbishopric's located across Syria in

20148-545: The villages concerned were evicted. These and other expropriations was part of the so-called "Arab Belt initiative" which aimed to change the demographic fabric of the resource-rich region. Accordingly, relations between the Syrian government and the Syrian Kurdish population were tense. The response of northern Syrian parties and movements to the policies of Hafez al-Assad 's Ba'athist government varied greatly. Some parties opted for resistance, whereas others such as

20294-546: The world stage"; one journalist stated that "this was one of the worst US foreign policy disasters since the Iraq War ". Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces captured 68 settlements, including Ras al-Ayn , Tell Abyad , Suluk , Mabrouka and Manajir during the 9-day operation before a 120-hour ceasefire was announced. The operation was condemned by the international community, and human rights violations by Turkish forces were reported. Media outlets labelled

20440-487: Was a militant Kurdish group led by Abdullah Öcalan which was waging an insurgency against Turkey . Syria and Turkey were hostile toward each other at the time, resulting in the use of the PKK as proxy group. The party began to deeply influence the Syrian Kurdish population in the Afrin and Ayn al-Arab Districts , where it promoted Kurdish identity through music, clothing, popular culture, and social activities. In contrast,

20586-457: Was arrested without being informed of charges, in what is alleged to be in response to an article published by Mr. Yousph in which he criticized the de facto Kurdish authorities for closing Assyrian schools, as well as the assault on Issa Rashid, a fellow Assyrian writer. One day after his arrest, Sutoro announced a statement saying that "Action had to be taken against those spreading lies, that democracy has rules and limitations, and that defamation

20732-453: Was dissolved as a geo-political entity, and the region gradually saw an influx of Muslim Arab , Turkic and Iranic peoples . However, settlement in the northeastern areas often proved unsustainable in the long-term, leading to numerous episodes of population exodus. In addition to experiencing such destabilising factors such as climate shifts and over-cultivation of land , the area was also vulnerable to attack from nomadic peoples. Following

20878-452: Was en estimated 200,000 Assyrians in Hasakah province This list includes all cities, towns and villages with more than 5,000 inhabitants. The population figures are given according to the 2004 official census: The governorate is divided into four districts ( manatiq ). The districts are further divided into 16 sub-districts ( nawahi ): The Khabur River , which flows through al-Hasakah for 440 kilometres (270 mi), witnessed

21024-456: Was established as de facto Syrian "successor" of the PKK in 2003. The " People's Protection Units " (YPG), a paramilitary wing of the PYD, was also founded during this time, but remained dormant. In 2011, a civil uprising erupted in Syria, prompting hasty government reforms. One of the issues addressed during this time was the status of Syria's stateless Kurds, as President Bashar al-Assad granted about 220,000 Kurds citizenship. In course of

21170-462: Was marked by civil strife and inter-communal violence in the province, and angry hostility on the part of the mainly Arab nationalists pushing for outright independence for Syria. Long having viewed the settlement of Assyrians and Armenians in the country as the product of French colonialism, they were further incensed by the arrival of additional Assyrian refugees on the Khabur, and mobilized support from many Arab tribes and some Kurdish groups to counter

21316-633: Was no institution of tertiary education on the territory of the region at the onset of the Syrian Civil War, an increasing number of such institutions have been established by the regional administrations in the region since. Incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , as well as other internationally recognized human rights conventions,

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