Hundreds of Syria’s Assyrian Christians still held captive: ‘No one helped us’

The Islamic State group released at least 19 Assyrian Christians on Sunday who were among the more than 220 people the militants took captive in northeastern Syria last week, activists said. But more than 200 Assyrians remain in Islamic State hands. According to figures given by the Christian rebel commander, the number of Assyrians held hostage by the militants range from 250 to 400, which would make it the biggest case of mass kidnapping of Christians by the militants and the second-largest of any minority group, after the capture of 400 to 1,000 Yazidis in Iraq last August.

What happened to us is a threat to diversity, and it is a problem for the international community. Unfortunately we see less willingness to fight this extremist ideology.

Habib Afram, secretary-general for the Federation of Christian Association in Lebanon

When ISIL fighters seized two Assyrian villages from Kurdish forces in Hassakah last week, entire residential areas were ransacked, houses burnt to the ground, and those who were not able to flee, were either killed or kidnapped, according to their relatives living in neighbouring Lebanon. Across the Middle East, Assyrians have been targeted repeatedly, forced to flee and seek refuge. Since the war in Syria, a large number of Assyrian Christians have sought refuge in Lebanon. Official figures put the number of Assyrians in Lebanon at 50,000, although the number is higher now following the influx of Christian refugees from both Syria and Iraq.

We have men, we have a military council for Assyrians [in Hassakah], but no one is giving us weapons to defend ourselves. There is a conspiracy against us to push the indigenous people off their land.

Ibrahim Murad, head of Syriac Union Party

Syria Christians Middle East