AMO has been receiving regular updates about the battle from its sources in Syria and Europe. Attempts to reach Ashur, the military spokesman for the Gozarto Protection Forces (GPF) headquartered in Zaline (Qamishli), have thus far been unsuccessful – AMO is praying for his (and others) safety.
Kurdish attackers, the YPG and the terrorist organization, the Kurdish Workers’ Party or the PKK, are hard-core Marxist groups, with long histories of terror and brutality.
Back in 2013, these two groups declared Northern Syria an autonomous Kurdish State, calling it Rojava, further destabilizing the region and expanding the violence of the Syrian civil war.
“We condemn this attack in the strongest of terms,” said David William Lazar, AMO Chairman. “For years,” Lazar continued, “We have been sounding the alarm over Kurdish aggression and violence against Assyrians in Iraq and Syria. Again, as in the past, the Kurds are trying to drive Assyrians from their homes, businesses and lives. We will not stand for it.”
Mr. Lazar also hinted at a strategy to support the beleaguered Assyrian Christians in Syria. “AMO is mobilizing its contacts, including an advocacy group in Washington, DC, to bring continuous pressure on the US Government to step in and stop these Kurdish-led acts of terror.
“Although information is still coming in,” Mr. Lazar said, “We can confirm that one GPF fighter has been killed and at least three wounded. The fighting is taking place in the Al-Wusta neighborhood of the city.”
Zaline (Qamishli) traces its roots back to Assyrian founders who escaped the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks in 1915.
The Al-Wusta neighborhood is known for its many churches and its annual Christmas parade.
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http://www.americanmesopotamian.org/?p=166