The Syriac Security Office (, ), commonly known as the Sutoro or the Sutoro Police, is an Assyrian Christian police force in the

Jazira Region The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton (; ; ), is the largest of the three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). As part of the ongoing Rojava conflict, its democratic autonomy was off ...

of 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 ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, where it works in concert with the general Asayish police force of the canton with the mission to police ethnic Assyrian areas and neighbourhoods. It’s establishment is associated with the Syriac Union Party (SUP).

History

Integration in the Rojava institutions

With the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War and the

Rojava conflict The Rojava Conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Syrian Kurdistan, Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began ...

, Sutoro units were first organized in town of al-Qahtaniyah (Qabre Hewore), and soon thereafter in

al-Malikiyah Al-Malikiyah (; ; ) also known as Derik, is a city in northeastern Syria and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. The district constitutes the northeastern corner of the country, and is where the Syrian ...

(Dayrik). The Syriac Union Party maintains warm and friendly relations with its Kurdish neighbours, and it was one of numerous organizations to join the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in establishing a formal administration for self-governance in northern Syria called

Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...

. Following this policy, the Sutoro has sought to align itself with the Kurdish

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

(YPG) from an early juncture. Although the Kurds were initially suspicious when it started organizing and wanted its members to either disarm or join Kurdish formations, the Sutoro was soon accepted and welcomed by Kurdish forces. It became fully integrated in the administration of the

, operating alongside the general Rojavan Asayish police force, manning joint checkpoints and patrolling neighbourhoods together, while its paramilitary counterpart, the

Syriac Military Council The Syriac Military Council (, MFS; ) is an Assyrian people, Assyrian military organisation in Syria, part of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The establishment of the organisation was announced on 8 January 2013. According to the Syriac Military Co ...

(MFS), joined an alliance with the YPG in January 2014.

Breakaway of group "Sootoro"

The Sutoro Police should not be confused with the Sootoro, which has the same name in the Syriac language, but uses the English translation "Syriac Protection Office" and the transliteration "Sootoro". This police organization in the city of

Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...

was originally founded as the local branch of the Sutero but in late 2013 broke away, turning itself into a militia aligned with the

Ba'athist Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology ...

government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

. The Sutoro later founded a new branch in

External links

Sutoro - Assyrians/Arameans train to protect their areas in Syria
RT video

References

{{Rojava topics Assyrians in Syria Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Assyrian organizations Dawronoye Law enforcement in Syria

History

Integration in the Rojava institutions

Breakaway of group "Sootoro"

See also

External links

References