17. Mai 2023

Kurzbeschreibungen zu den in dieser Anfragebeantwortung verwendeten Quellen sowie Ausschnitte mit Informationen aus diesen Quellen finden Sie im Anhang.

Angriffe auf und Diskriminierung von syrisch-orthodoxen Christ·innen im Gebiet der Autonomen Administration von Nord- und Ostsyrien (AANES)

Gewalttätige Angriffe von Unbekannten und von der Gruppe Islamischer Staat (IS)

Rudaw berichtet im Februar 2023 von der mutwilligen Beschädigung eines Denkmals in Nordostsyrien, das an den Völkermord an den syrischen Christ·innen (Sayfo) von 1915 erinnere. Der Befehlshaber der SDF [Demokratische Kräfte Syriens] habe den Angriff als Versuch, Spannungen zu schüren, verurteilt (Rudaw, 25. Februar 2023).

Im November 2019 seien der Priester einer armenisch-katholischen Kirche in Qamischli, Ibrahim Hanna Bedoyan, und sein Sohn in der Provinz Deir e-Zor ermordet worden. Am selben Tag sei es in Qamischli zu zwei Anschlägen mit Autobomben gekommen. Beide Bombenanschläge hätten Kirchen, sowie Geschäfte und Hotels, die in christlichem Besitz seien, als Ziel gehabt (Syria Direct, 22. Dezember 2019).

Voice of America (VOA) berichtet im Juli 2019 über einen vom IS durchgeführten Selbstmordanschlag nahe einer Kirche in der Stadt Qamischli. Laut Abdulkarim Omar, Co-Vorsitzender für Außenbeziehungen der AANES, verfüge der IS mit Stand Juli 2019 weiterhin über eine große Anzahl von Schläferzellen, die tödliche Angriffe gegen Zivilist·innen in der Region, insbesondere gegen Christ·innen und andere Minderheiten, verüben könnten (VOA, 12. Juli 2019).

Es konnten keine weiteren Berichte zu Angriffen auf Christ·innen oder Kirchen in der AANES gefunden werden.

Angriffe des türkischen Militärs

North Press Agency (NPA) erklärt in einem Artikel vom März 2023, dass die Türkei weiterhin in regelmäßigen Abständen den Nordosten Syriens bombardiere, insbesondere das Chabour-Tal, in dem Christ·innen die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung bilden würden. Ausgewanderte Christ·innen würden laut NPA nicht in die Regionen der AANES zurückkehren, weil viele von ihnen türkische Angriffe oder die Errichtung einer 30km breiten „Sicherheitszone“ befürchten würden, die fast alle der in Nordost-Syrien verbleibenden christlichen Gebiete einschließen würde (NPA, 11. März 2023, siehe auch: STJ, März 2023, S. 9).

International Christian Concern (ICC) berichtet im Jänner 2023, dass die Türkei ihre Absicht bekräftigt habe, eine Bodeninvasion in Nordsyrien gegen die SDF zu starten. Viele Christ·innen würden befürchten, dass ein weiterer türkischer Militäreinsatz Vertreibung, Angriffe auf Kirchen und die gezielte ethnische Säuberung von Kurd·innen, Jesid·innen und Christ·innen mit sich bringen würde (ICC, 18. Jänner 2023).

PIME Asia News schreibt im April 2022, dass Christ·innen und Kirchen unter den Opfern der Frühjahrsoffensive der türkischen Regierung gegen die PKK (Arbeiterpartei Kurdistans) in Nordost-Syrien gewesen seien. Laut christlichen Quellen hätten türkische Kampfflugzeuge in der Osternacht mehrfach das assyrische Dorf Tel Shanan bombardiert. Am Vortag hätten türkische Bomben im Dorf Tal Tawil, einem christlich-assyrischen Dorf in der Nähe von Tal Tamar, eine Kirche beschädigt und mehrere Häuser zerstört (PIME Asia News, 19. April 2022).

Laut Syrian Democratic Times sei es Ende Mai 2022 zu weiteren türkischen Angriffen in Tal Tawil gekommen Die Mar Sawa Kirche sei durch die Bombardierungen fast vollkommen zerstört worden. Die christliche Bevölkerung der Region (des Chabour-Tals) sei aufgrund der wiederkehrenden Angriffe kaum noch existent (Syrian Democratic Times, 7. Juni 2022).

VOA berichtet im September 2021 von türkischen Angriffen gegen Tal Tamar, bei denen, laut dem Sprecher einer christlichen Miliz, zwei Schulen, ein Gemeindegebäude, eine Bäckerei sowie eine Stromleitung zerstört worden seien (VOA, 16. September 2021).

Konflikt christlicher Schulen mit AANES-Behörden

Der Aktivist Ghandi Saadou bestätigt in einem Interview mit Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), dass die AANES in den vergangenen Jahren von den assyrischen Schulen verlangt habe, den Lehrplan der AANES zu unterrichten. Es sei mit Schließung gedroht worden (STJ, März 2023, S. 10).

Orient Net, ein syrisch oppositioneller Sender, der in Dubai ansässig ist, berichtet im November 2022, dass die Bildungsbehörde der AANES unter anderem der ältesten christlichen Schule in ihrer Region, der „Al-Amal“-Schule in der Stadt Qamischli, mit Schließung gedroht habe, sollte der Unterricht nach den Lehrplänen der syrischen Regierung nicht eingestellt werden und sich die Schule nicht dazu verpflichten, den Lehrplan der AANES zu unterrichten. Eine hochrangige christliche Persönlichkeit in Qamischli, Suleiman Youssef, habe gegenüber Orient Net angegeben, dass die Beharrlichkeit der kurdischen Regierung, den christlichen Schulen ihren Lehrplan aufzuzwingen, obwohl es bekannt sei, dass die Kirchen den Lehrplan nicht akzeptieren, so wirke, als ob Personen in der Regierung kirchliche Schulen schließen und die verbleibenden Christ·innen vertreiben wollten (Orient Net, 8. November 2022). Es konnte nicht herausgefunden werden, ob die Schule in weiterer Folge den Lehrplan geändert hat oder (vorübergehend) geschlossen wurde.

Laut The Assyrian Journal sei die Weisung, dem Lehrplan der AANES zu folgen oder geschlossen zu werden, im Oktober 2022 an 23 christlich geführte Schulen im Nordosten Syriens ergangen. Dies betreffe laut einem syrisch-orthodoxem Bischof über 20.000 Schüler·innen (The Assyrian Journal, 8. November 2022).

EUAA schreibt im September 2022 unter Berufung auf unterschiedliche Quellen, dass mehrere Schüler·innen, Lehrer·innen und Mitglieder des Syrisch-Christlich-Orthodoxen Glaubensrats im September 2021, hauptsächlich in der Provinz Hasaka sowie in der Stadt Ein Arab in der Provinz Aleppo, von den SDF verhaftet worden seien, nachdem sie den von der AANES eingeführten Lehrplan kritisiert hätten und sich geweigert hätten ihn zu übernehmen (EUAA, September 2022, S. 95-96, siehe auch: WCA, 22. September 2021). Bereits im Jahr 2018 hätten Auseinandersetzungen zwischen der Regierung der AANES und den christlichen Gemeinden über den Lehrplan zu vorübergehenden Schließungen von assyrischen und chaldäisch-katholischen Schulen in den Städten Qamischli, Hasaka und Al-Malikiyeh, sowie zu Verhaftungen geführt (EUAA, März 2020, S. 43).

Illegale Eigentumsbeschlagnahmungen und Enteignungen

International Christian Concern (ICC) berichtet im Juli 2022 über illegale Eigentumsbeschlagnahmungen und Enteignungen von Christ·innen in den Regionen unter Kontrolle der AANES, wie Qamischli, Hasaka, Derek und Tal Tamr. Speziell betroffen seien Christ·innen, die Syrien verlassen hätten (ICC, 25. Juli 2022).

Auch NPA berichtet im März 2023 über die Beschwerden einiger Mitglieder der assyrischen Gemeinschaft, dass die AANES das Eigentum abwesender christlicher Grund- oder Hausbesitzer („landlords“) beschlagnahme (NPA, 11. März 2023).

STJ zitiert - ebenfalls im März 2023 - Samer Al-Nashif, den Leiter des Organisationsbüros des Sozial- und Arbeitsausschusses des Zivilrats von Raqqa, zu diesem Thema. Laut Al-Nashif komme es zur Beschlagnahmung von Eigentum von abwesenden Personen. Solche Praktiken seien jedoch Fälle von individuellem Machtmissbrauch (STJ, März 2023, S. 11).

Behandlung von syrisch-orthodoxen Christ·innen im Rahmen des „Selbstverteidigungsdienstes“ und bei Verweigerung des Dienstes aus Glaubensgründen

Das Danish Immigration Service (DIS) zitiert in seinem Bericht über Rekrutierung in der Provinz Hasaka vom Juni 2022 einen kurdisch-syrischen Journalisten und Schriftsteller mit Wohnsitz in Erbil, der regelmäßig nach Syrien reist. Laut dem Journalisten gelte das Gesetz zur Selbstverteidigungspflicht für alle Männer aus den Gebieten der AANES, unabhängig davon, ob sie Kurden, Araber, Christen, syrische Staatsbürger, Ajanib (staatenlose Kurden, die als Ausländer in Syrien registriert sind, Anmerkung ACCORD) oder Maktoumin (staatenlose Kurden, die nicht in Syrien registriert sind, Anmerkung ACCORD) seien (DIS, Juni 2022, S. 48). Den Selbstverteidigungsdienst aus Gewissengründen zu verweigern sei keine Option (DIS, Juni 2022, S. 49). Auch Wladimir van Wilgenburg, ein freiberuflicher Journalist, politischer Analyst und Autor mehrerer Bücher über Kurden in Syrien, erklärt im Jänner 2022 gegenüber DIS, dass er nicht von der Möglichkeit der Wehrdienstverweigerung aus Gewissensgründen in der AANES gehört habe (DIS, Juni 2022, S. 70).

EUAA erklärt im März 2020, dass im Falle einer Verweigerung des Selbstverteidigungsdienstes aus Gewissengründen die Wehrpflicht als Strafmaßnahme 15 Monate betrage. Danach stehe es dem Wehrpflichtigen frei, sich einer Miliz anzuschließen (EUAA, März 2020, S. 46; siehe auch: Al-Jazeera, 2. März 2021).

Al-Jazeera stellt in einem Artikel über die Zwangsrekrutierung von Lehrern in der AANES vom März 2021 den Bericht des Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) zur Situation den Aussagen von Kino Gabriel, einem SDF-Sprecher, gegenüber. Laut dem Bericht von SNHR hätten 550 Lehrer ihre Anstellung verloren, weil sie eine Rekrutierung durch die SDF abgelehnt hätten. Einer der betroffenen Lehrer vermeide aus Angst vor einer Verhaftung die Checkpoints der SDF. Laut SNHR würden Verhaftungen von Lehrern ohne Haftbefehl, und häufig ohne dass die Person über die erhobenen Anklagepunkte informiert werde, durchgeführt. Gabriel setze dem entgegen, dass es, anders als im Bericht von SNHR beschrieben, keine Verhaftungen zum Zweck der Ableistung des Wehrdienstes gebe. Personen, die sich nicht zum Selbstverteidigungsdienst gemeldet hätten, würden häufig an Checkpoints festgehalten und direkt in ein Trainingslager gebracht werden. Laut Gabriel müssten Männer, die sich nicht ordnungsgemäß zum Selbstverteidigungsdienst melden und dann erwischt werden, den Dienst drei Monate länger als normal absolvieren. Es werde den Personen nichts Anderes angetan und sie würden nicht verhaftet werden. Es gebe, laut Gabriel, keine Ausnahme für Lehrer, religiöse Führer würden aber vielleicht den Dienst nicht antreten (Al-Jazeera, 2. März 2021).

Enab Baladi beschreibt in einem Artikel vom April 2021, dass die SDF in ihren Territorien eine Vielzahl von Checkpoints errichtet habe, um zu garantieren, dass Männer der Zielgruppe den Selbstverteidigungsdienst erfüllen. Außerdem würden die kurdischen Sicherheitskräfte (Asayish) Razzien durchführen, um potenzielle Rekruten aufzuspüren (Enab Baladi, 15. April 2021).

Das Gesetz über den Selbstverteidigungsdienst in der AANES beinhaltet keine Ausnahme für religiöse Führer. Eine englische Übersetzung des derzeit geltenden Gesetzes vom Juni 2019 finden Sie unter folgendem Link:

·      RIC – Rojava Information Center: Translation: Law concerning military service in North and East Syria, 10. Juni 2020
https://rojavainformationcenter.com/2020/06/translation-law-concerning-military-service-in-north-and-east-syria/

 

Quellen: (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am [Veröffentlichungsdatum])

·      Al-Jazeera: SDF militia forcibly conscripting teachers in Syria: Report, 2. März 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/2/kurdish-fighters-forcibly-conscripting-teachers-in-syria-report

·      DIS – Danish Immigration Service: Syria: Military recruitment in Hasakah Governorate, Juni 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2075255/syria_fmm_rappport_military_recruitment_hasakah_governorate_june2022.pdf

·      Enab Baladi: Under guise of duty: patterns of coercion enabled by SDF’s draft law, 15. April 2021
https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2021/04/under-guise-of-duty-patterns-of-coercion-enabled-by-sdfs-draft-law/

·      EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum: Syria; Targeting of individuals, März 2020
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2026226/03_2020_Syria_Targeting_of_individuals.pdf

·      EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum: Syria: Targeting of individuals, September 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2078321/2022_09_EUAA_COI_Report_Syria_Targeting_of_individuals.pdf

·      ICC – International Christian Concern: Christian Properties Throughout Northeastern Syria Under Threat, 25. Juli 2022
https://www.persecution.org/2022/07/25/christian-properties-throughout-northeastern-syria-threat/

·      ICC – International Christian Concern: Turkey Continue Threats to Invade Northeast Syria, 18. Jänner 2023
https://www.persecution.org/2023/01/18/turkey-continue-threats-to-invade-northeast-syria/

·      NPA – North Press Agency: Christians in NE Syria protected, threats remain – report, 11. März 2023
https://npasyria.com/en/94551/

·      Orient Net: Wegen ihrer Lehrpläne droht die SDF-Miliz christlichen Schulen in Qamischli mit Schließung [بسبب مناهجها التعليمية.. ميليشيا قسد تهدد المدارس المسيحية في القامشلي بالإغلاق], 8. November 2022
https://orient-news.net/ar/news_show/200293

·      PIME Asia News: Turkish offensive in Syria and Iraq: one Christian victim, churches and houses damaged, 19. April 2022
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Turkish-offensive-in-Syria-and-Iraq:-one-Christian-victim,-churches-and-houses-damaged-55614.html

·      RIC – Rojava Information Center: Translation: Law concerning military service in North and East Syria, 10. Juni 2020
https://rojavainformationcenter.com/2020/06/translation-law-concerning-military-service-in-north-and-east-syria/

·      Rudaw: Christian monument vandalized in northeast Syria, 25. Februar 2023
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/25022023

·      STJ – Syrians for Truth & Justice: Christians of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor Under and After the IS, März 2023
https://stj-sy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Christians-of-Raqqa-and-Deir-ez-Zor-Under-and-After-the-IS.pdf

·      Syria Direct: Syrian Christians: Exploited or protected minority?, 22. Dezember 2019
https://syriadirect.org/syrian-christians-exploited-or-protected-minority/

·      Syrian Democratic Times: Assyrian Christian Church Devastated By Turkish Shelling, 7. Juni 2022
https://www.syriandemocratictimes.com/2022/06/07/assyrian-christian-church-devastated-by-turkish-shelling/

·      The Assyrian Journal: Christian Schools In Northeast Syria Ordered To Teach Self-Administration Curriculum Or Face Closure, 8. November 2022 (verfügbar über Internet Archive)
https://theassyrianjournal.wordpress.com/2022/11/08/christian-schools-in-northeast-syria-ordered-to-teach-self-administration-curriculum-or-face-closure

·      VOA – Voice of America: Christians Concerned About Turkish Attacks in Northeast Syria, 16. September 2021
https://www.voanews.com/a/6227751.html

·      VOA – Voice of America: Syrian Christians Targeted Again by Islamic State, 12. Juli 2019
https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_syrian-christians-targeted-again-islamic-state/6171743.html

·      WCA – World Council of Arameans: Kurdish PYD-YPG Shamelessly Terrorizes Christian Churches In Northeast Syria, 22. September 2021
https://wca-ngo.org/wca-news/press-releases/656-kurdish-pyd-ypg-shamelessly-terrorizes-christian-churches-in-northeast-syria

 

Anhang: Quellenbeschreibungen und Informationen aus ausgewählten Quellen

Al-Jazeera ist ein in Qatar ansässiger arabischer Nachrichtensender.

·      Al-Jazeera: SDF militia forcibly conscripting teachers in Syria: Report, 2. März 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/2/kurdish-fighters-forcibly-conscripting-teachers-in-syria-report

„The report further highlighted 550 teachers were dismissed from their jobs following their rejection of forced conscription.

A first-grade teacher at a government school in Deir Az Zor, who requested to be identified by his initials JA only for fear of being arrested, said he avoids going through SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] checkpoints. […]

The SNHR [Syrian Network for Human Rights] continuously uses the SDF as an umbrella term within the report, pointing to the military as being responsible for the arrests and dismissals.

But Kino Gabriel, an SDF spokesman, told Al Jazeera the Ministry of Education would be responsible for dismissals and the internal security forces, or Asayish, for any arrests. […]

The SNHR report detailed the teacher arrests were carried out without warrants, often without notifying the person of the charges against them. […]

Gabriel rejected the report’s description of arresting people for conscription, instead saying people who have not registered for military service are often detained at checkpoints and directly taken to training camps.

‘If you are not enlisting yourself as you should be, eventually you get caught and you serve three months more than the normal. Nothing else is done to them, they’re not arrested,’ he said. […]

For those detained for refusing to enlist in the SDF, their service lasts up to 15 months, and for men late to enlist they are forced to serve for an additional month. […]

‘There is no such exception for teachers. Maybe religious leaders do not join the military service, but other people without any regards to occupation, they eventually take part in the military service,’ Gabriel explained. […]

As the new curriculum was rolled out in northeast Syria, the SDF ordered the majority of teachers in the region to sign a pledge stating they will only teach from those materials. Those who failed to do so, according to SNHR, are arrested.“ (Al-Jazeera, 2. März 2021)

Das Danish Immigration Service (DIS) ist die in Dänemark für Einwanderung, Einreise und Aufenthalt von Ausländer·innen zuständige Behörde des Ministeriums für Einwanderung und Integration.

·      DIS – Danish Immigration Service: Syria: Military recruitment in Hasakah Governorate, Juni 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2075255/syria_fmm_rappport_military_recruitment_hasakah_governorate_june2022.pdf

„The Self-Defence Duty law applies to anyone who comes from Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) areas, irrespective whether the person is Kurd, Arab, Christian, Syrian citizen, Ajanib or Maktoumin.“ (DIS, Juni 2022, S. 48)

„Conscientious objection to Self-Defence Duty is not an option.“ (DIS, Juni 2022, S. 49)

„The source has not heard about the possibility of conscientious objections to conscription in the HXP [Self-Defence Forces]. “ (DIS, Juni 2022, S. 70)

Enab Baladi ist eine regierungskritische syrische Medienorganisation.

·      Enab Baladi: Under guise of duty: patterns of coercion enabled by SDF’s draft law, 15. April 2021
https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2021/04/under-guise-of-duty-patterns-of-coercion-enabled-by-sdfs-draft-law/

„Muhammad fled these buildings and sought refuge away from the city. Today he lives, almost in hiding, in one of Raqqa’s eastern suburban villages. There, even though he keeps a safe distance from the overwhelming presence of the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] security services, he continues to battle with the fear that he might be coerced again into the military any time.

Muhammad told Enab Baladi that evading conscription was the right decision to make, despite the critical changes that befell his life after his flight. He is constantly concerned over his family, for the SDF security services might raid their home any moment in search of him. […]

To ensure that target age groups will certainly perform said duty, the SDF has extensively deployed checkpoints across its territories. The scene bears an uncanny resemblance to former regime checkpoints, which also led youth to the ranks of different military divisions.

To feed their ranks with necessary manpower, the Internal Security Forces (Asayish)—an SDF affiliate— carry out raids in search of potential recruits. Barely any day passes without local news outlets reporting a series of youth and men arrests conducted by the SDF in northeastern Syria. The arrested ultimately end up in military outfits of the SDF, or any of its co-services.“ (Enab Baladi, 15. April 2021)

Die Asylagentur der Europäischen Union (European Union Agency for Asylum, EUAA) ist eine EU-Agentur, deren Aufgabe es ist, die Mitgliedstaaten bei der Umsetzung des als Gemeinsames Europäisches Asylsystem bekannten EU-Gesetzespakets zu Asyl, internationalem Schutz und Aufnahmebedingungen zu unterstützen.

·      EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum: Syria; Targeting of individuals, März 2020
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2026226/03_2020_Syria_Targeting_of_individuals.pdf

„Disputes between the PYD [Democratic Union Party]-led Kurdish administration in north-east Syria and Christian communities over the school curriculum during 2018 have led to the temporary closure of 14 Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic schools in the cities of Qamishli, Hasaka and Al-Malikiyeh for refusal to adopt the Kurdish curriculum. Christian activists complained in protest that the ‘mandated curriculum denied them their own unique ethnoreligious identities’ and that it aimed to promote Kurdish nationalism.

In 2018, Assyrian and Chaldeans protesting the implementation of the PYD curriculum were reportedly arrested or disappeared by PYD forces. In February 2019, the SNHR [Syrian Network for Human Rights] stated that teachers who refuse to fully implement the PYD curriculum were arrested.“ (EUAA, März 2020, S. 43)

„In the case of conscientious objection to military service or arrest, compulsory military service would be 15 months as a punitive measure. Then the conscript is free to join a militia. Men serve in the YPG [People's Defense Units], while women can serve in the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) - the women branch of the YPG - on a voluntary basis.“ (EUAA, März 2020, S. 46)

·      EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum: Syria: Targeting of individuals, September 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2078321/2022_09_EUAA_COI_Report_Syria_Targeting_of_individuals.pdf

„The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noted that in the Kurdish controlled areas, Christians and other religious groups were able to openly express and exercise their religious beliefs, including converting to other religions. There were however concerns by Syriac Christian communities regarding the school curriculum. Several students, teachers and members of the Syriac Christian Orthodox Creed Council were arrested mainly in Hasaka governorate and Ein Arab city in Aleppo governorate by SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] in September 2021, after they had criticised and refused to adopt the school curriculum introduced by the Kurdish-led AANES [Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria] in the areas under their control. SNHR [Syrian Network for Human Rights] specifically mentioned the arrest of two council members in Qamishli city. Both were reportedly released the following day. SHRC [Syrian Human Rights Committee] explained that the main reason for rejecting the curriculum was that it was not recognised by institutions outside the Kurdish-controlled areas, preventing students from pursuing higher education.“ (EUAA, September 2022, S. 95-96)

International Christian Concern (ICC) ist eine ökumenische, nichtstaatliche, überparteiliche christliche Organisation mit Sitz in Washington, DC.

·      ICC – International Christian Concern: Christian Properties Throughout Northeastern Syria Under Threat, 25. Juli 2022
https://www.persecution.org/2022/07/25/christian-properties-throughout-northeastern-syria-threat/

„In northeastern Syria, Christians are increasingly becoming the victims of illegal property confiscations and expropriations. The Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), which works on behalf of the Christian Assyrian, Syrian, and Chaldean populations in the area, has served as a major source of reporting on the escalation of these crimes against Christians. Christians who have emigrated from Syria in recent years amidst the chaos of ongoing armed conflict are particularly vulnerable to these fraudulent property seizures because they are not as easily aware of fraud attempts and are not well positioned to fight against them. One particular case of attempted property seizure against a Christian family in Syria was highlighted, but according to the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), legal cases relating to the seizure or illicit sale of Christian properties have been registered in several urban centers: Qamishli, Hassakè, Derek, and Tal Tamr. These areas are all under the control of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as ‘Rojava.’“ (ICC, 25. Juli 2022)

·      ICC – International Christian Concern: Turkey Continue Threats to Invade Northeast Syria, 18. Jänner 2023
https://www.persecution.org/2023/01/18/turkey-continue-threats-to-invade-northeast-syria/

„Turkey this week reiterated its intentions and threats to launch a ground invasion into northern Syria targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who they consider as ‘terrorists’. […]

Many Christians fear that another Turkish military operation will bring similar results of previous years, further displacement, church attacks, and targeted ethnic cleansing of Kurds, Yazidis and Christians.“ (ICC, 18. Jänner 2023)

North Press Agency (NPA) beschreibt sich selbst als unabhängige syrische Nachrichtenagentur. Es konnten keine weiteren Informationen zu dieser Organisation gefunden werden.

·      NPA – North Press Agency: Christians in NE Syria protected, threats remain – report, 11. März 2023
https://npasyria.com/en/94551/

„Christians living in northern Syria were further displaced by subsequent Turkish attacks on the region. Afrin’s emerging Protestant Christian community has been nearly entirely displaced. Turkey continues to periodically shell northeast Syria, too, especially the Christian-majority Khabour Valley. […]

Despite the AANES’ best efforts, most Christian emigrants have not returned. Many fear Turkish attacks or the implementation of a 30 km-deep ‘security zone’, which would envelop nearly all remaining Christian pockets in northeast Syria. A possible armed conflict between Syrian government forces and the AANES-linked Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also looms large. In addition, Christians in northeast Syria are affected by a debilitating economic crisis and spiralling inflation like the rest of Syrians.

Some members of the Assyrian community have also complained that the AANES is seizing the property of absentee Christian landlords. An AANES official quoted by STJ did not deny the occurrence of such cases, but said they were isolated and based on ‘individual abuses of power.’“ (NPA, 11. März 2023)

PIME Asia News ist eine offizielle Presseagentur des katholischen päpstlichen Instituts für Auslandsmissionen (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, PIME).

·      PIME Asia News: Turkish offensive in Syria and Iraq: one Christian victim, churches and houses damaged, 19. April 2022
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Turkish-offensive-in-Syria-and-Iraq:-one-Christian-victim,-churches-and-houses-damaged-55614.html

„Churches and Christian faithful are among the victims of the spring offensive launched by the Turkish government against PKK targets (the Kurdish Workers' Party, considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara) in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria. […]

Christian sources in north-eastern Syria report that on Easter night Turkish fighter planes bombed the Assyrian village of Tel Shanan several times. At the same time, heavy clashes took place on the ground between jihadist groups - supported by Ankara - and members of a Christian militia (Mnk) present in the area.

The previous day, Turkish bombs had damaged a church and destroyed several houses in the village of Tal Tawil near Tal Tamar. Tal Tawil is a Christian-Assyrian village in Khabour that has resisted multiple attacks by the Islamic State (IS, formerly Isis) since the beginning of the conflict in Syria and is now in the crosshairs of Turkish soldiers and mercenaries linked to various jihadist factions.“ (PIME Asia News, 19. April 2022)

Rudaw ist ein in der Autonomen Region Kurdistan (Irak) ansässiges kurdisches Mediennetzwerk.

·      Rudaw: Christian monument vandalized in northeast Syria, 25. Februar 2023
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/25022023

„A monument commemorating the massacre of Christians a century ago has been vandalized in northeast Syria, an attack condemned by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander as trying to stoke tensions.

The ‘Sayfo 1915 Syriac genocide monument… has been vandalized’ Saturday morning, the Syriac Military Council (MFS) announced on Twitter, condemning the attack ‘against our memory, history and remembrance’.“ (Rudaw, 25. Februar 2023)

Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) besteht aus einem Team von Forschern, Anwälten und Freiwilligen, die sich der Aufdeckung von Menschenrechtsverletzungen in ganz Syrien widmen.

·      STJ – Syrians for Truth & Justice: Christians of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor Under and After the IS, März 2023
https://stj-sy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Christians-of-Raqqa-and-Deir-ez-Zor-Under-and-After-the-IS.pdf

„Sa’adou confirmed that all residents in the Jazira share the same concerns, which are the outbreak of any new wars between the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] and the regime or between the SDF and the opposition armed groups, as well as Turkey’s interventions and its threats of establishing 30- kilometer (18.64-mile) deep buffer zone in Syria. These security concerns are added to the livelihood concerns amid rampant inflation, soaring prices, currency collapse, and mass unemployment.“ (STJ, März 2023, S. 9)

„The Jazira residents also showed concerns related to the educational system, since the AANES [Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria] have been demanding the Assyrian schools in the last couple of years to teach its curricula or be closed up otherwise. The schools have refused to adopt the AANES’ curricula because they are not officially recognized. Meaning that those who graduate from schools teaching these curricula cannot enroll in any university inside or outside Syria. To secure quality education for the children is a critical cause of the Jazira families to migrate, according to Sa’adou.“ (STJ, März 2023, S. 10)

„Al-Nashif did not deny the occurrence of cases in which the AANES [Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria] seized properties of absents, citing that such practices were individual abuses of power.“ (STJ, März 2023, S. 11)

Syria Direct ist, laut eigenen Angaben, eine 2013 gegründete nicht profitorientierte journalistische Organisation, die Nachrichten und Interviews aus Syrien publiziert.

·      Syria Direct: Syrian Christians: Exploited or protected minority?, 22. Dezember 2019
https://syriadirect.org/syrian-christians-exploited-or-protected-minority/

„Immediately following the Turkish offensive, there were two violent attacks carried out against Christians in the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] territory. The priest of an Armenian Catholic church in Qamishli, Ibrahim Hanna Bedoyan, known locally as ‘Father Hovsep,’ and his son were assassinated in Deir e-Zor while on a visit to supervise the restoration of a local church on November 11, 2019.

On the same day as Father Hovsep’s assassination, there were two car bombings in the city of Qamishli, the de-facto capital of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AA). The bombings targeted churches, shops and hotels owned by local Syriac, Chaldean and Armenian Christians, according to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the AA’s main political party.“ (Syria Direct, 22. Dezember 2019)

Die Syrian Democratic Times ist das Sprachrohr der US-Mission des Syrian Democratic Council, einer politischen Dachorganisation, die 2015 in Al-Malikiya gegründet wurde.

·      Syrian Democratic Times: Assyrian Christian Church Devastated By Turkish Shelling, 7. Juni 2022
https://www.syriandemocratictimes.com/2022/06/07/assyrian-christian-church-devastated-by-turkish-shelling/

„Turkish forces targeted the Assyrian Christian village of Tel Tawil on May 29, near the settlement Tel Tamr, with artillery shelling. The Mar Sawa Church in the village was nearly destroyed by the shelling. […]

The Christian population of this region, known as the Khabour Valley, has become almost non-existent. They were subject to heavy attacks by ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] in 2015 and then by Turkey again since October 2019.

Prior to these attacks, the Christian population was over 12,000. However, after years of instability due to attacks from sectarian groups, that number is estimated to be approximately 1,000.“ (Syrian Democratic Times, 7. Juni 2022)

The Assyrian Journal ist laut eigenen Angaben eine 2017 gegründete, unabhängige Nachrichtenorganisation, die sich auf Berichterstattung über die globale assyrische Gemeinschaft spezialisiert.

·      The Assyrian Journal: Christian Schools In Northeast Syria Ordered To Teach Self-Administration Curriculum Or Face Closure, 8. November 2022
https://theassyrianjournal.wordpress.com/2022/11/08/christian-schools-in-northeast-syria-ordered-to-teach-self-administration-curriculum-or-face-closure/

„A letter from the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Department of Education, dated Oct. 24 and provided to a Christian school in Hasakah on Nov. 1, instructs the school they must begin teaching the self-administration’s curriculum, not the Syrian curriculum, or they will face closure.

This ruling was issued against 23 Christian-led schools in northeast Syria, a Syriac Orthodox bishop said, totalling around 500 staff and over 20,000 Arab, Kurdish and Syriac (Assyrian) students.

Christians in the area say the self administration’s curriculum is not recognized and accepted by Syrian universities as well as many schools abroad.“ (The Assyrian Journal, 8. November 2022)

Voice of America (VOA) ist der offizielle staatliche Auslandssender der USA.

·      VOA – Voice of America: Christians Concerned About Turkish Attacks in Northeast Syria, 16. September 2021
https://www.voanews.com/a/6227751.html

„Syrian Christian leaders are expressing concerns over escalating Turkish attacks in northeast Syria, saying the recent military activity has driven many Christians and members of other minority groups from their homes.

Military officials in the region said last week that Turkey carried out attacks against the Christian-majority town of Tel Tamer and surrounding villages.

‘The Turkish shelling recently destroyed two schools, a municipal building, a bakery and a power line in the area,’ said Matai Hanna, a spokesman for the Syriac Military Council, a major Christian militia in northeast Syria. […]

Bassam Ishak, president of the Syriac National Council, one of the largest Christian political groups in Syria, said the Turkish bombing of areas on the Syria-Turkey border has led to the displacement of a large number of residents, including many Assyrian Christians.

‘The recent Turkish bombardment on the city of Tel Tamer caused a sense of instability and anxiety among the residents of the city, prompting many Assyrian Christian residents to flee,’ he told VOA.“ (VOA, 16. September 2021)

·      VOA – Voice of America: Syrian Christians Targeted Again by Islamic State, 12. Juli 2019
https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_syrian-christians-targeted-again-islamic-state/6171743.html

„A suicide attack claimed by Islamic State (IS) near a church in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli shows that Christians remain a major target of the terror group, local officials and experts say.

The car bombing, which took place Thursday near the Virgin Lady Church in Qamishli, left at least 12 people wounded, some in critical condition. It also damaged parts of the church.

The terror group claimed responsibility for the attack through its online media.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared victory over IS [Islamic State] in March of this year, but SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] officials say the group still poses a threat to the local population.

IS ‘has a large number of sleeper cells that can wage deadly attacks against civilians in our area, particularly Christians and other minorities,’ said Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of foreign relations in the SDF-led administration in northeast Syria.“ (VOA, 12. Juli 2019)

Der Weltverband der Aramäer (Syrer) (World Council of Arameans, WCA) ist eine weltweit aktive Nichtregierungsorganisation mit Sitz Hengelo in den Niederlanden, deren Mitgliedsverbände nach eigenen Angaben das aramäische Volk weltweit vertreten.

·      WCA – World Council of Arameans: Kurdish PYD-YPG Shamelessly Terrorizes Christian Churches In Northeast Syria, 22. September 2021
https://wca-ngo.org/wca-news/press-releases/656-kurdish-pyd-ypg-shamelessly-terrorizes-christian-churches-in-northeast-syria

„On 21 September 2021, the Kurdish PYD [Democratic Union Party]/YPG [People's Defense Units] militia in Northeast Syria once again abused Western support to terrorize the defenseless Christians of Qamishli, the stated capital of their self-proclaimed ‘West Kurdistan’. This time, they kidnapped an eminent member of the local Church Board, which resists attempts to Kurdify the private Aramean schools.

A threat made a week earlier by an Aramean to his kinsmen was executed yesterday by the Kurdish PYD/YPG. Around 1.30 p.m. local time, a jeep with armed men violently seized Mr. George Safar, a prominent member of the Church Board, from the street because he is in charge of the Aramaic schools. This prompted a visit by the Vice Chairman Mr. Abdelmasih Malko and his colleague Ms. Shmuni Hardo (also engaged in the schools) to the YPG office in Qamishli. […]

With the start of the new school year in Syria, the tiny minority of Arameans serving the PYD/YPG, which is the PKK’s [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] branch in Syria that controls the Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), again began to bully their fellow people into replacing the teachers and textbooks of the private Aramean schools with substitutes of Kurdish PYD/YPG making. […]

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a community leader from Qamishli clarified why they resist the syllabus that is being pushed for by the PYD/YPG Kurds and their Aramean henchmen:

‘On behalf of the PYD/YPG, they use our language as a medium to instill PKK’s separatist ideas in our children because the vast majority of the Christians are against the SDF, the PYD/YPG/PKK and their proxies. They propagate that they care about the Aramean people and their Aramaic language. In reality, all they care about is power and ideology. Their books are distorted and nationalistic, political and ideological in character.’“ (WCA, 22. September 2021)