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Shafaq News
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Officials demand public trial for Akitu festival attacker
Shafaq News/ The assailant behind the attack on Akitu celebrations in Duhok has been identified as a member of ISIS, according to Ashur Sliwa Niqo, a senior official in the Assyrian Democratic Movement. Niqo called for a public trial of the perpetrator, who reportedly shouted ISIS slogans during the assault. "The Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people have celebrated Akitu, the Babylonian-Assyrian New Year, for 6,775 years. Thousands from Kurdistan, Iraq, and beyond, including Europe, the US, and Russia, take part in these festivities," Niqo told Shafaq News. The attack occurred during a 30,000-strong procession that began at St. Mary's Church in Duhok. A man armed with a cleaver attacked a 75-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man, inflicting severe head injuries. Niqo stated that when security forces apprehended the suspect, he was chanting ISIS slogans and making gestures associated with the terrorist group. The Kurdistan Region Security Council later confirmed the attacker was a Syrian national and an ISIS member. Calling the incident the first of its kind since Akitu celebrations began in Duhok in 1992, Niqo urged authorities to publicly disclose the investigation's findings and not dismiss the attack as an isolated incident. He also emphasized the need to enforce laws against hate speech and extremism, warning of the threats such crimes pose to social harmony. Niqo commended security forces for swiftly arresting the attacker and reiterated demands for a transparent public trial. He also extended well wishes to the victims, calling for greater protection of cultural and religious gatherings. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemned the attack, stating that a thorough investigation is underway and reaffirming the Region's commitment to peaceful coexistence among its diverse communities. Kurdistan's presidency also condemned that attack, stating, "We strongly condemn the criminal assault that took place in Duhok, injuring two Christian participants." The Presidency reaffirmed the Region's commitment to peaceful coexistence, stressing that "the Region will remain a model of harmony among all communities. Any attempt to undermine this culture of tolerance will not be tolerated, and the perpetrators will be held accountable under the law."
Arab News
01-04-2025
- Arab News
Three injured in Iraq when an axe-wielding man attacks an Assyrian Christian new year parade
Witnesses said the attacker, who has not been officially identified, ran toward the crowd shouting Islamic slogansHe struck three people with the axe before being stopped by participants and security forcesIRBIL: The annual parade by Assyrian Christians in the Iraqi city of Dohuk to mark their new year was marred Tuesday when an axe-wielding man attacked the procession and wounded three people, witnesses and local officials parade, held every year on April 1, drew thousands of Assyrians from Iraq and across the diaspora, who marched through Dohuk in northern Iraq waving Assyrian flags and wearing colorful traditional said the attacker, who has not been officially identified, ran toward the crowd shouting Islamic struck three people with the axe before being stopped by participants and security forces. Videos circulated online showed him pinned to the ground, repeatedly shouting, 'Daesh, the Daesh remains.'The victims included a 17-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman, both of whom suffered skull fractures. A member of the local security forces, who was operating a surveillance drone, was also injured. All three were hospitalized, local security officials the hospital where her 17-year-old son Fardi was being treated after suffering a skull injury in the attack, Athraa Abdullah told The Associated Press that her son had come with his friends in buses. He was sending photos from the celebrations shortly before his friends called to say he had been attacked, she whose family was displaced when Daesh militants swept into their area in 2014, said, 'We were already attacked and displaced by Daesh, and today we faced a terrorist attack at a place we came to for shelter.'Janet Aprem Odisho, whose 75-year-old mother Yoniyah Khoshaba was among the wounded, said she and her mother were shopping near the parade when the attack happened.'He was running at us with an axe,' she said. 'All I remember is that he hit my mother, and I ran away when she fell. He had already attacked a young man who was bleeding in the street, then he tried to attack more people.'Her family, originally from Baghdad, was also displaced by past violence and now lives in Ain Baqre village near the town of faced a wave of hate speech and offensive comments on social media following the Yousif Toma, a political bureau member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), condemned the regional government in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region and Iraqi federal authorities to address extremist indoctrination.'We request both governments to review the religious and education curriculums that plant hate in people's heads and encourage ethnic and religious extremism,' he said. 'This was obviously an inhumane terrorist attack.'However, he said that the Assyrian community had celebrated their new year, known as Akitu, in Duhok since the 1990s without incidents of violence and acknowledged the support of local Kurdish Muslim residents.'The Kurds in Duhok serve us water and candy even when they are fasting for Ramadan. This was likely an individual, unplanned attack, and it will not scare our people,' he said, adding that the community was waiting for the results of the official investigation and planned to file an official lawsuit.'The Middle East is governed by religion, and as minorities, we suffer double because we are both ethnically and religiously different from the majority,' he said. 'But we have a cause, and we marched today to show that we have existed here for thousands of years. This attack will not stop our people.'Despite the attack, Assyrians continued the celebrations of the holiday, which symbolizes renewal and rebirth in Assyrian culture as well as resilience and continuous existence as an indigenous one point, as the injured teenager was rushed to the hospital, some participants wrapped his head in an Assyrian flag, which was later lifted again in the parade— stained with blood but held high as a symbol of resilience.
Shafaq News
01-04-2025
- Shafaq News
Suspected ISIS attacker targets Akitu Festival in Duhok
Shafaq News/ A suspected ISIS-linked attack injured two people during celebrations for Akitu, the Babylonian-Assyrian New Year, in Duhok, security sources said Tuesday. The attack unfolded in a crowded marketplace, where the suspect first assaulted an elderly woman before turning on a 17-year-old participant in the festival's parade. The teenager's mother said her son had traveled from Qaraqosh earlier that day to join the festivities. "At noon, we received a call saying he had been taken to the hospital with a deep head wound," she told Shafaq News. Doctors managed to stop the bleeding, and his condition is now stable. Witnesses reported that the elderly woman was struck multiple times on the back and head while shopping with her daughter. She was rushed to Duhok Emergency Hospital's intensive care unit. Security sources told Shafaq News that the suspect entered the marketplace before launching his attack and was later restrained by the crowd. Initial investigations suggest he belongs to a terrorist organization, with some reports linking him to ISIS. Ninos Odesho, a senior member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, condemned the attack as an "act of terrorism," claiming the suspect was a Syrian national. "He was shouting 'Islamic State' as he was being arrested," Odesho said, referencing video footage of the incident circulating on social media. He urged authorities to launch a full investigation to uncover potential accomplices. Despite the violence, Akitu celebrations proceeded as planned, with thousands of participants from across Iraq and beyond. The parade, which began at St. Mary's Church, made its way through the city's main streets before culminating in a public gathering at Mazi Complex, where attendees waved flags and performed traditional dances.
