Syriac Military Council

Syriac Military Council
ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ
Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo
Leaders
  • Spokesman (until 2018): Kino Gabriel[1]
  • Spokesman (until 2021): Abgar David[2]
  • Spokesman (from 2021): Matay Hanna[3]
  • Gewargis Hanna[4]
  • Johan Cosar[5]
Dates of operation8 January 2013–Present
AllegianceSyriac Union Party
Group(s)Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces
Special Forces unit[6]
Active regionsAl-Hasakah Governorate
Raqqa Governorate
Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Gozarto Region
IdeologyDawronoye
Size2,000+ (2015)[7]
c. 3,000+ (2017 estimate)[8]
Part ofSyrian Democratic Forces
AlliesKhabour Guards
Nattoreh
Sutoro
People's Protection Units
OpponentsIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant
al-Nusra Front
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

Iraqi Civil War

Flag
Websitehttps://twitter.com/SyriacMFS
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The Syriac Military Council (Syriac: ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, romanized: Mawtbo Fulḥoyo Suryoyo, MFS; Arabic: المجلس العسكري السرياني السوري) is an Assyrian/Syriac military organisation in Syria, part of the Syrian Democratic Forces. 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 and to protect Assyrians in Syria.[12] It operates mostly in the densely populated Assyrian areas of Al-Hasakah Governorate,[13] and is affiliated to the Syriac Union Party.

On 16 December 2013, the Syriac Military Council announced the foundation of a new Military Academy named "Martyr Abgar".[14][15] On December 24, the MFS released photographs showing its members in control of the Assyrian village of Ghardukah, located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Qahtaniyah (Tirbespiyê/Qabre Hewore).[16] 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),[17] in which MFS members may have participated. The Syriac Military Council established an all-female military and police unit called the Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces in September 2015.[18][19][20]

  1. ^ "تكليف "كينو غابرييل" ناطقاً رسمياً باسم قوات سوريا الديمقراطية". Archived from the original on 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  2. ^ Anna Varfolomeeva (31 January 2018). "Syriac Military Council plans imminent deployment to defend "our democratic project" in Efrin". The Defense Post. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Ten years of Syriac Military Council. MFS spokesman Matay Hanna says fight against terrorism and struggle for self-determination and full rights for Syriacs and all peoples of Syria will continue". 8 January 2023.
  4. ^ "20 Minuten - Schweizer Christen kämpfen gegen den IS - News". 20 Minuten. 24 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Bürgerkrieg in Syrien: Schweizer Scharfschütze". ZEIT ONLINE. 24 October 2014.
  6. ^ "#Syriac Military Council, MFS also is sending special forces as reinforcements with the SDF amid ongoing hard battle against ISIS in the various fronts in the Deir ez Zor region for the total liberation of the area and safety of the population with @coalition & @CENTCOM.pic.twitter.com/qbQlPVeZnZ". October 29, 2018.
  7. ^ "Syrien: Christen lassen sich von IS nicht vertreiben". Die Welt. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. ^ Rashid (2018), p. 53.
  9. ^ MFS Media Center (7 July 2019). "بيان تأسيس المجلس العسكري السرياني الاشوري ، إتحاد MFS و MNK". Youtube. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Süryani Askeri Meclisi Sözcüsü: Güçlerimiz halkının büyük desteği ile kuruldu - Hawarnews Türkçe Sayfası".
  11. ^ Johannes de Jong (26 June 2016). "Brave Local Christians Fighting ISIS Need Guns and Bullets". The Stream. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  12. ^ Khalel, Sheren; Vickery, Matthew (24 February 2015). "Syria's Christians Fight Back". Foreign Policy Magazine.
  13. ^ "Syriacs establish military council in Syria". Hürriyet Daily News. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  14. ^ "The Academy Martyr Abgar (Sohdo Abgar) of Syriac Military Council was founded!". YouTube. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More". Facebook.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Sher Tirbesipi" (in Kurdish). Rûdaw Kurdish. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Bethnahrin Women Protection Forces Founded against ISIS".
  19. ^ "Assyrian Female Fighters Joined Battlefronts Against ISIS in Northeastern Syria".
  20. ^ "The revolutionaries of Bethnahrin: cooperation between Christians and Kurds - Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal".