Syriac Military Council

Syriac Military Council
ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ
Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo
Participant in the Syrian Civil War

Official flag of the Syriac Military Council
Active 8 January 2013–Present
Allegiance Syriac Union Party
Leaders Gewargis Hanna[1]
Area of operations

Al-Hasakah Governorate
Raqqa Governorate

Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Strength 2,000+[2]
Part of Syriac Union Party
Syrian Democratic Forces
Allies People's Protection Units
Khabour Guards
Opponents

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

al-Nusra Front
Battles and wars

The Syriac Military Council (Syriac: ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ‎ Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo, MFS for short; Arabic: المجلس العسكري السرياني السوري‎‎) is an Assyrian/Syriac military organisation in Syria. The establishment of the organisation was announced on 8 January 2013. According to the Syriac Military Council, the goal of the organisation is to stand up for the national rights of Syriac Christians and to protect the Assyrian and Syriac-Aramean people in Syria.[4] The organisation fights mostly in the densely populated Assyrian areas of the Governorate of Al-Hasakah.[5]

On 16 December 2013, the Syriac Military Council announced the foundation of a new Military Academy named "Martyr Abgar".[6][7] On December 24, the MFS released photographs showing its members in control of the Syriac village of Ghardukah, located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Qahtaniyah (Tirbespiyê/Qabre Hewore).[8] The village church had been completely destroyed by Jabhat al-Nusra, which occupied the hamlet before being expelled in mid-October during an operation launched by the People's Protection Units (YPG),[9] in which MFS members may have participated. On 8 January 2014, the MFS announced that the group had joined the YPG ranks.[10][11] The Syriac Military Council established an all-female unit called the Bethnahrin Women Protection Forces.[12][13][14]

Tell Brak & Tel Hamis Operations

The MFS was also a part of a YPG-led offensive against Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which began on 26 December 2013 in Tel Hamis area.[15] YPG and MFS were unable to hold Tell Brak and failed to capture Tel Hamis, and the offensive was called off in early January. However, on February 23, a pre-dawn raid by the Kurdish People's Protection Units and the Syriac Military Council captured Tell Brak.[16]

June Counter-Offensive (Syria-Iraq Border)

MFS along with YPG forces participated in an offensive along the Syrian-Iraqi border. The joint forces managed to drive out ISIS forces after the Islamic group took control of Mosul and most of Ninawa Province during the June ISIS offensive. The operation led to the full control of Til-Koçar, in the Syrian side of the border, and Rabia, in the Iraqi side of the border.[17][18]

August Counter-Offensive (Nineveh & Sinjar)

MFS along with YPG forces and other allies, participated in an offensive in Iraq's province of Nineveh in the district of Sinjar, to protect minorities against ISIL attacks.[19]

Khabur Valley Operations

Islamic State launched a series of attacks in late February 2015 against Christian villages in the northeastern Hassakeh province located in the Khabur river valley,[20] with the ultimate goal of capturing the strategic town of Tel Tamer under control of the YPG and MFS.[21] In early March 2015 units of the Syriac Military Council and the YPG were involved in heavy clashes in the region, notably around the villages of Tel Nasri and Tel Mghas.[22] On 15 March 2015, the Council reported it was in control of Tel Mghas.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "20 Minuten - Schweizer Christen kämpfen gegen den IS - News". 20 Minuten.
  2. ↑ "Syrien: Christen lassen sich von IS nicht vertreiben". Die Welt. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Johannes de Jong (26 June 2016). "Brave Local Christians Fighting ISIS Need Guns and Bullets". The Stream. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Khalel, Sheren; Vickery, Matthew (24 February 2015). "Syria's Christians Fight Back". Foreign Policy Magazine.
  5. ↑ "Syriacs establish military council in Syria". Hürriyet Daily News. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Academy Martyr Abgar (Sohdo Abgar) of Syriac Military Council was founded!". YouTube. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More". Facebook.
  8. ↑ "Martha Vergili-Hobil on Twitter: "Mor Malke in Gharduka is destroyed by El-Nusra. El-Nusra has fled & the village is now controlled by the MFS #syriac". Twitter.
  9. ↑ "Sher Tirbesipi" (in Kurdish). Rûdaw Kurdish. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  10. ↑ The #Syriac Military Council has joined the YPG! Syriac Military Council Official Facebook, 8 January 2014
  11. ↑ Syriac Military Council: Most important decisions is to join YPG Dicle News Agency, 9 January 2014
  12. ↑ http://bianet.org/english/women/167293-bethnahrin-women-protection-forces-founded-against-isis
  13. ↑ http://aina.org/news/20151219152717.htm
  14. ↑ http://links.org.au/node/4503
  15. ↑ "Interview with Christian SMC fighters and local Sunni Arabs who fights along YPG and YPJ". YouTube. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Syrian Kurds take town from Islamists: watchdog". Reuters. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "Presence of the MFS at the border of Iraq". Syriac International News Agency. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "أراء مقاتلي وحدات حماية الشعب في بلدة ربيعة - YouTube". YouTube. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "Video: YPG and MFS arrived in Shingal Mountains Sinjar to protect the refugees who fled from Shingal and other Towns". Frequency.
  20. ↑ "Assyrian Christian leaders call for help against renewed ISIS offensive in Hassakeh". Christian Today. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "Christian Area in Northeast Syria Said to Be Under Heavy ISIS Assault". 7 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  22. ↑ "ISIS Crosses River in New Attacks on Assyrian Villages in Syria". 7 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  23. ↑ "MFS and YPG liberated the church [of Tel Mghas] and are present there now". 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
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