The Armenian and Assyrian villages near Til Temir are targeted by the Turkish state and the jihadist militias of the so-called Syrian National Army. Along the Khabour (Xabur) river there are 33 Assyrian villages. Before the ISIS attack in 2015, there were about 20,000 Assyrians living in the region. Now there are only 1200.

According to fighters of the Assyrian Khabour Forces, the proxies of the Turkish army are jihadists of the ISIS and al-Nusra.

"They're aiming for a massacre"

Fighter Bort Xoşaba told the following about the situation on the ground: "There is talk of a safe zone. Does safety mean forcibly driving out the inhabitants of a region and locating other people in their place? This is a hypocritical policy. First the attackers were called 'Free Syrian Army'. Then it was the ISIS and al-Nusra. Now they come along as 'Syrian National Army'. Whatever their name is, they are trying to massacre the Assyrian population."

"We are attacked by ISIS, backed by Turkey"

Nohya Dwar, another fighter of the Assyrian Forces, says: "We were living in safety. The gangs started attacking us and then everywhere ended up insecure. We are attacked by the ISIS that are supported by Turkey. Only their name has been changed. We will continue to resist any attack."