In a statement, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria commemorated victims of the 15 June 1915 genocide against Syriacs. It said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to revive the massacres in the past.

The statement said, “Ottomans were known for their barbarism in the region. They carried out many massacres against the people of the region from the Dersim Genocide to the Beirut, Cairo, Karbala, Armenian and Sayfo massacres.”

“106 years after the Sayfo Massacre, Erdogan still wants to revive the Ottoman empire. Today, Turkish forces commit many crimes throughout Syria and the region. Erdogan targets the whole region because he wants to revive what his ancestors did in each region. He targets Christians in Syria. There is an attempt to repeat the Sayfo Massacre with new methods,” the statement said.

The statement continued,

“As the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, at a time when we commemorate the victims of the Sayfo Massacre and the massacres perpetrated by the Ottoman and Turkish state, we demand that everyone involved in the massacres committed against the peoples of the region to be tried in accordance with the law. The international community's ignorance of these crimes paves the way for more victims and new massacres.

We declare that we will fight together to protect our identity and existence, especially against the genocide attempts by the Turkish state. People’s solidarity is the greatest power to maintain the unity, common identity and existence among the peoples, as well as to hold the perpetrators of massacres accountable.”