Fears grow for Christians held by IS

[webfact]

Abducted Syrian Christians moved to militant stronghold
By ZEINA KARAM

BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants have moved a large group of Christians they abducted to one of their strongholds as fighting raged on Wednesday between the extremists and Kurdish and Christian militiamen for control of a chain of villages along a strategic river in northeastern Syria, activists and state-run media said.

The Khabur River in Hassakeh province, which borders Turkey and Iraq, has become the latest battleground in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. It is predominantly Kurdish but also has populations of Arabs and predominantly Christian Assyrians and Armenians.

In pre-dawn attacks, the IS on Monday attacked communities nestled along the river, seizing at least 70 people, including many women and children. Thousands of others fled to safer areas.

The fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians, remained unclear Wednesday, two days after they were seized. Relatives of the group searched frantically for word on the fate of the loved ones, but none came.

"It's a tragedy ... It is true what they say: history repeats itself," said Younan Talia, a high ranking official with the Assyrian Democratic Organization who spoke to The Associated Press from Hassakeh.

He was referring to the 1933 massacre by Iraqi government forces of Assyrians in Simele, a town in northern Iraq, after which the community fled to the Khabur region, and massacres against Armenian and Assyrian Christians under the Ottoman empire.

State-run SANA news agency and the Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria said the hostages have been moved to the Islamic State-controlled city of Shaddadeh, south of the city of Hassakeh. The United States and a coalition of regional partners are conducting a campaign of airstrikes against the group, and have on occasion struck Shaddadeh, a predominantly Arab town.

"In addition to its strategy of terrifying people, taking hostages to use as human shields to protect from coalition airstrikes is another of its goals," said Osama Edward, director of the Stockholm-based Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria.

The mass abduction added to fears among religious minorities in both Syria and Iraq, who have been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State group. During the group's bloody campaign in both countries, where it has declared a self-styled caliphate, minorities have been repeatedly targeted and killed, driven from their homes, had their women enslaved and places of worship destroyed.

The Assyrians are indigenous Christian people who trace their roots back to the ancient Mesopotamians.

Talia said IS militants had raided 33 Assyrian villages on Monday, picking up as many as 300 people along the way. Many were plucked from their beds at dawn. A man who refused to leave his home was set on fire along with his house.

He added that more than 700 families who fled Khabour region had arrived in Hasaskeh, while 200 other families fled to Qamishli.

"We are watching a living history and all that comprises (it) disappear," wrote Mardean Isaac of A Demand for Action, an activist group that focuses on religious minorities in the Middle East.

He called for further airstrikes to assist those Assyrian and Kurdish forces fighting the militants in Syria.

In its first comments on the subject, SANA said around 90 civilians had been kidnapped by the extremists. It said that the militants burned people's homes and stole their properties, adding that those kidnapped were taken to Shaddadeh.

It quoted the patriarch of the Greek Catholic church, Gregory III Laham, as saying that in addition to the abductions, the militants destroyed the historic church in Tal Hurmiz, one of the oldest in Syria.

"Does the world need additional proof to stand united effectively against this epidemic and this criminal, inhuman group," he asked.

Edward, who said his organization relied on observers on the ground in Syria, said two historic churches have been burned by the militants, one in Tal Hurmiz and the other in Qaber Shamiyeh.

Yunan Ruel Odishu, a priest from Tal Hurmiz currently in Dohuk, Iraq, said the Islamic State group issued a statement last month warning them to remove the cross from the village church, but the priest there didn't respond.

"In the last few days, they attacked all the villages. We think as a response to that," he said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a Christian group called the Syriac Military Council said heavy clashes against militants in the area were continuing. The group, which is fighting alongside Kurds and Arab militiamen, said three of its fighters were killed in Tal Hurmiz Tuesday.

"The Syriac Military Council and the Khabur Guards are determined to fight back ISIS, to regain the Assyrian villages and to release the Assyrian Christian hostages from ISIS," it said in a statement, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State group.

The Islamic State group has a history of killing captives, including foreign journalists, Syrian soldiers and Kurdish militiamen. Most recently, militants in Libya affiliated with the extremist group released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

The extremists could also use the Assyrian captives to try to arrange a prisoner swap with the Kurdish militias it is battling in northeastern Syria.

Talia appealed for "anyone with a free conscience" to address the tragedy of the Assyrians.

"We have lost our homes, our property, everything. But the hardest thing we lost is our dignity," he said.
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Associated Press writer Bram Janssen in Irbil contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-26

[Dannyboy666]

Well, Hit The Militant Stronghold, Geez

[Scott]

Troll posts and replies removed.

[NeverSure]

Well, Hit The Militant Stronghold, Geez

As the article says, they use these civilians as human shields. I don't know what could be done. Some tactics would have to change and a lot of people including civilians would have to die. Even then, how do you get them all when they are wearing civilian clothes and hiding among the general population? Who do you bomb or shoot at?

I don't know.

[Seastallion]

Well, Hit The Militant Stronghold, Geez

As the article says, they use these civilians as human shields. I don't know what could be done. Some tactics would have to change and a lot of people including civilians would have to die. Even then, how do you get them all when they are wearing civilian clothes and hiding among the general population? Who do you bomb or shoot at?

I don't know.

In recent history, human shields or civilians have made no difference to whether an enemy should be bombed and you have supported that. Why the change of heart now? Does the religion of the human shields and nearby civilians make a difference?

[snarky66]

I wonder what Obama is planning to do about it? Probably nothing.

[Xircal]

I wonder what Obama is planning to do about it? Probably nothing.

You're saying that because you don't like Obama, not because you think he's responsible.

If you want to portray any US president as being anemic, I think you can point the finger squarely at George Bush's door. His popularity was in the doldrums and with all the jokes about him flying around as being America's stupidest president, he desperately wanted to divert world attention away from himself. Bringing American democracy to the Middle East seemed like the best way of achieving that goal.

Saddam was no saint I give you that, but we wouldn't be where we are now if Bush hadn't sought regime change in Iraq back in 2003.

[NeverSure]

Well, Hit The Militant Stronghold, Geez

As the article says, they use these civilians as human shields. I don't know what could be done. Some tactics would have to change and a lot of people including civilians would have to die. Even then, how do you get them all when they are wearing civilian clothes and hiding among the general population? Who do you bomb or shoot at?

I don't know.

In recent history, human shields or civilians have made no difference to whether an enemy should be bombed and you have supported that. Why the change of heart now? Does the religion of the human shields and nearby civilians make a difference?

I don't know where I've supported that when a war isn't against a country, its leaders and its people. Also, the current rules of engagement make the wheels come off the Western press if civilians are killed.

I have pointed out how the allies bombed Germany during WWII, but the ROI have changed since then by treaties, as have the attitudes of the press.

I support attacking a country including its people when it declares or starts wars as a nation. I hold the people responsible for its leaders. The last time the West outright won a war it went after entire counties including Japan and Germany. I don't know how to go after this insurgency when its not in uniform, it's hiding among the people, and the people and official governments aren't the aggressors.

[Paulc01]

Well, Hit The Militant Stronghold, Geez

As the article says, they use these civilians as human shields. I don't know what could be done. Some tactics would have to change and a lot of people including civilians would have to die. Even then, how do you get them all when they are wearing civilian clothes and hiding among the general population? Who do you bomb or shoot at?

I don't know.

In recent history, human shields or civilians have made no difference to whether an enemy should be bombed and you have supported that. Why the change of heart now? Does the religion of the human shields and nearby civilians make a difference?

I don't know where I've supported that when a war isn't against a country, its leaders and its people. Also, the current rules of engagement make the wheels come off the Western press if civilians are killed.

I have pointed out how the allies bombed Germany during WWII, but the ROI have changed since then by treaties, as have the attitudes of the press.

I support attacking a country including its people when it declares or starts wars as a nation. I hold the people responsible for its leaders. The last time the West outright won a war it went after entire counties including Japan and Germany. I don't know how to go after this insurgency when its not in uniform, it's hiding among the people, and the people and official governments aren't the aggressors.

The Jihadis have families.

[snarky66]

No I'm saying a real president would send 20000 troops and airplanes and helicopters and defeat this vermin on the ground along with assistance from our allies Egypt and Jordan and Turkey if they want to participate. That's if we had a real president. You say I don't like Obama. I despise Obama. That should be fairly obvious. He is spineless. He kills people as if it were a video game.

Edited February 26, 2015 by snarky66