Akhikar Rashid said that the “The Gazerto Protection Forces (Sutoro Police) are a group of Christian youth in general, which is comprised of Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians and all Christian communities that existed in the al-Jazira area.”
Earlier, it was reported that Daesh militants had captured 36 Christian villages along the Khabur River in the province of Hasakah in February. The extremist group destroyed ancient churches, killed scores of civilians and kidnapped over 300 Assyrians in the offensive.
Rashid further said that the group is financially and spiritually supported by its own people from abroad; “it is aimed at maintaining self-protection and fighting terrorism; they are located in al-Hasakah, al-Qamishli, and Khabur.”
Talking about Daesh, the head said that the southeast of al-Hasakah and southeast of Abdel-Aziz Mountain are under the militants’ control.
Earlier it was reported that over 15,000 Assyrian Christian families remain at risk in Syria amid the ongoing crisis, according to the Assyrian Church of the East in Lebanon.
Rashid said that for more support the group depends very much on the fact that their voice reaches “Geneva Conference”.
“We are excluded as Syriac and Assyrian component from attending the Conference; we do not know who stands behind this. We attended the talks Moscow-1 and Moscow-2; therefore, we wish that the Russian leadership take in consideration the Assyrian component and represent it in the Conference,” Rashid concluded.
