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Assyrian Families Escape Hasakah After ISIS Offensive
By Ahmed Shiwesh, Ivana Abdul Halim
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Displaced civilians from Hasakah.
Qamishli, Syria -- Subsequent to a major offensive by the radical group of the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) on the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, some 1300 Christian families have been displaced from the city, the Assyrian Network for Human Rights reported on Monday. Over the past few days, thousands of people, including Arabs, Kurds and Christians fled the clashes that broke out between the hardline group on the one hand and the pro-regime forces and the Kurdish forces of the People's Protection Units (YPG) on the other. The Assyrian Network for Human Rights reported that the number of Assyrian Christian families displaced from the city of Hasakah reached 1300 so far. Most of the displaced families were headed to the nearby city of Qamishli. "The majority of the displaced Christians have been sheltered in churches, schools and monasteries, as well as by residents of Qamishli city," the source added. Some of the displaced Assyrian families headed to the town of Tel Temir and Derbassiyeh city (85 km north of Hasakah). This comes after IS militants took over Nashwa Gharbiya neighborhood in southern Hasakah last Wednesday, where clashes still continue between IS militants and the regime forces. Speaking to ARA News in Qamishli, Ninos Shabo, an Assyrian human rights activist, reported that Assyrians fear of a similar scenario of abduction and executions against their peers in Tel Temir. "They escaped Hasakah to avoid atrocities at the hands of IS militants," he said.



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