In the Nasra neighborhood of Hassake, the entire population of the neighborhood is Assyrian, except for a few families and mainly an Arab family named Al-Radhi. They are originally either from Deir Al-Zor or Raqqa. They are trouble makers and no body in Hassake likes them.

An Assyrian man named Ibrahim Nasim Abdul-Ahhad owns a coffee shop in the neighborhood. About 2 weeks ago, the members of this Arab family had an internal fight in the family. Some of their men went to coffee shop of this Assyrian man and sat their playing cards and drinking tea and coffee. They were
also yelling and screaming and swearing. So the owner got into an argument with them. Finally, he told them to pay for their drinks and get out. So they began swearing at him and Christians.

They left that night, but the next day a few more of them came back to the coffee shop with a relative of theirs who is an officer. They began to swear at everyone and at Christians in general. They took out their guns and scared everyone in the coffee shop and then they dragged the Assyrian owner from the coffee shop and they beat him. They told anyone who comes to help him that they will also hurt them. Then they handcuffed him and tied him to the back of a car and began to drag him in the street. Due to his pains, the Assyrian man began screaming.

This lead another Assyrian by the name of Yalda Ya'qoub to go and help him, so they beat him also and shot him. He was taken to a hospital immediately. By this time, the other Assyrian (Ibrahim Abdul-Ahhad) who was still tied to the car and being dragged had passed away. They did not stop and continued to drag him in the streets. After a while they untied him and left him handcuffed on a sidewalk in the neighborhood. Others claim that he was not killed like that, but rather they opened fire at both Assyrians, but after Ibrahim was dead, they dragged him in the streets. In other words he was dead when he was being dragged.

Ibrahim Abdul-Ahhad was buried the next day, while Yalda Ya'qoub was taken to a hospital in Damascus. The people who committed this act did not turn themselves in and the government did not arrest them. On Saturday, and ten days after he was taken to Damascus, Yalda Ya'qoub passed away.

Since the people who committed this crime were not arrested, the Assyrians felt that the government is taking sides and that Assyrian Christians are not going to be protected by the authorities. This would mean that anyone who felt like killing Assyrians would get away with it. Hence, Yalda Ya'qoub's family and friends in Tel-Tammer gathered and over 2000 Assyrians from Khabour and Hassake began to demonstrate in Hassake.

The Arab family fled the city of Hassake and went to Deir Al-Zor. The mob then marched over to the home of the Arab criminals, and after making sure that no one was there, in retaliation they burned the house down and then moved to the shops of these Arab criminals and vandalized them. Only then, did the government begin to step in. The police arrested 12 Assyrians.

A group of Assyrians also went to the Governor demanded that the criminals to be executed, which is according to the law in Syria. The governor agreed them that Assyrians were victimized, but he stated, "your actions have made you criminals also".

So on Saturday 30th October and Sunday the 31st, there were peaceful demonstrations by Assyrians in Hassake. The police dispersed the demonstrators by firing in the air. The government called for a curfew on the city of Hassake for the next few days. Yesterday was the funeral of Yalda Ya'qoub in Tel-Tammer, while it was supposed to be in Hassake, but the Minister of Interior asked that the funeral not take place in Hassake so that no more problems would arise.

Meanwhile, the officer from that Al-Radhi family who was involved in the crime, turned himself in, but until now, it is unknown if the others did. Now things are calm in Hassake, but the 12 Assyrians remain arrested.

Yesterday and Today, the government went and arrested 30 more Assyrians for being involved in burning the home of the Arab family and vandalizing their shops in Hassake. They have also released 2 of the previous 12 that were arrested, which brings the number of arrested Assyrians to 40. The ADO has confirmed this, but the ADO is claiming that the government's arrests made yesterday and today did not rely on any valid information of the involvement of these Assyrian individuals in the burning or
vandalizing. They claim that many of the arrested individuals were not involved.

End

An earlier Report

October 31, 2004
Elaph
By Bahhiya Mardini

Two weeks ago, a personal conflict between an Arab Moslem from the la-Radhi family and an Assyrian Christian (Suryani) from the Abraham family, resulted in serious troubles in al-Hasaka, Syria. The Arab Moslem man went ahead and brought his family, including an officer in the Syrian Army Mudhar al-Radhi, attacked, and killed Naseem Abraham (a 35 years old married Christian man). The Arab attackers mutilated Naseem's body, dragged his body in the street, and insulted the Christians in that quarter of the city.

When Yalda Yacoub (25 years old), Naseem's friend, rushed to attend to his friend, he was prevented from do so, attacked and injured as well. He was transferred to the hospital in Damascus. What aggravated the situation today (Sunday), as explained by Mr. Sulaiman Yousuf a member in the Political Bureau of the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), was the death of Yacoub in the hospital later.

In retaliation, his family and relatives in al-Hasaka burned the homes and shops of the al-Radhi family. Later, some 2000 Christians demonstrated in front of the governorate building and clashed with police; however, there were no injuries. Representatives from the Abraham and Yacoub families met with the governor and demanded the deportation of the al-Radhi family from al-Hasaka and the execution of the killer.

Mr. Yousuf added that today, Sunday October 31, the situation in al-Hasaka is calm; however tension is rising and the city is almost under curfew as the body of Yacoub is arriving from Damascus. The Assyrian Democratic Organization asked the authorities to control the situation quickly and resolve the reasons that led to the killings. Mr. Yousuf stated that a Church and Moslem tribal dialogue is underway seeking to deport the al-Radhi family by next Monday at the most ahead of Naseem's burial day to avoid any clashes with the Abraham family. However, the death of Yacoub inflamed the situation further and there is fear of anticipated troubles during the burial ceremonies, especially when the earlier Qamishli unrest are still looming on the region.

The Assyrian Democratic Organization stressed on the urgency to get the matter under control and resolve its reasons fearing sectarian strife.

http://www.elaph.com/Politics/2004/10/19100.htm