On December 2, 2011, immediately after Friday prayers, hundreds of Kurds in Zakho (North Iraq) were mobilized by the preaching of an Imam to attack businesses and properties owned by Christian Assyrians (also known as Syriacs and Chaldeans). The attacks were directed against liqoure stores and other places seen as non-islamic. At least 20 businesses in the predominantly Assyrian town of Zakho were attacked. The continuing violence against Assyrians spread to numerous places throughout Northern Iraq including the towns of Simele, Dohuk (Nohadra), Sheeuz, Amadiyah and Zaweeta. The attacks sent chock waves among the non-Kurdish inhabitants who often find themselves under discrimination by the dominant Kurdish political groups. Several human rights reports have concluded and shown comprehensive evidence of the oppression sanctioned by the two ruling Kurdish political parties in northern Iraq. Refer to the Human Rights Watch report: Iraq: on vulnerable ground -- violence against minority communities in Nineveh province's disputed areas. Attacks such as this one drive the remaining minority communities in Iraq into exile and must therefore be condemned and stopped. The Assyria Council of Europe calls on the European union to:

• Condemn the latest attacks and hold the authorities in northern Iraq responsible.
• Demand a transparent investigation into the attacks.
• Demand that the authorities in Northern Iraq compensate every business owner affected and issue an apology to the Assyrians in Northern Iraq.