The Assyrian People's Guard – Nattoreh (; ) is an Assyrian militia of the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

. It is based in the Khabur valley town of

Tell Tamer Tell Tamer (, or Til Temir, ) also known as Tal Tamr or Tal Tamir, is a town in western al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Tamer Subdistrict consisting of 13 municipalities. Originally buil ...

northwest of

Al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah (; / ; ) is a city in northeastern Syria and the capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate. With a 2023 estimated population of 422,445, Al-Hasakah is populated by Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. A ...

, an area with a large Assyrian population, in the

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), also known as Rojava, is a ''de facto'' Autonomous administrative division, autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and E ...

. The militia is composed of local Assyrians and, along with the Khabour Guards, is affiliated with the Assyrian Democratic Party.

History

While its exact foundation date is unknown, some sources allege that Nattoreh was first set up on 1 October 2011. Since its formation, the militia has taken part in several

-led operations against the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

, such as the Manbij offensive (2016), the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017), and the

Deir ez-Zor campaign (2017–2019) The Deir ez-Zor campaign, codenamed the al-Jazeera Storm campaign, was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 2017 during the Syrian Civil War with ...

. Nattoreh also protects ceremonies and celebrations of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

. On 25 February 2017, the Assyrian Democratic Party agreed to join the Syrian Democratic Council, and the

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG mostl ...

(YPG) agreed to hand over security in the Assyrian towns along the Khabur River to the Khabour Guards and Nattoreh, both of which joined the Syrian Democratic Forces. On 13 April, the YPG officially handed over responsibility for the security of the Khabur valley's villages to the Khabour Guards and Nattoreh, though it kept a military base near

. On 20 September 2018, Nattoreh joined the General Command of the Assyrian Forces, an umbrella organization founded by the Assyrian Democratic Party.

References

Bibliography

* Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Assyrian organizations Military units and factions of the Syrian civil war Syrian Democratic Forces {{Syria-stub

History

See also

References

Bibliography