ASIA/SIRIA - Christian professor killed in Hassakè, Syrian city controlled by Kurdish militias of the PYD

Monday, 24 July 2017 middle east   oriental churches   kurds   kidnappings  

AINA

Hassakè (Agenzia Fides) - The lifeless body of Basil Isaac, a Christian professor from the Khabur valley, who was killed with a bullet to his head, was found in a village eight kilometers east of the Syrian city of Hassakè on Friday 21 July. The incident is causing pain and concern among local communities, also because the region appears to be currently under the control of the Kurdish militiamen linked to the Democratic Kurdish Party (PYD), Syrian branch of the Karkeren Kurdistan Party(PKK). The authors and the reasons for the murder remain unknown at the moment, and even the track of a possible abduction for extortion does not seem possible, since no ransom was asked by anyone. The victim, an agronomist expert and dean of the local agrarian college, was well-known in the area for his academic and educational activity. Some days ago (see Fides 14/7/2017) Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, at the head of the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Hassakè-Nisibi, described to Fides the operations carried out by PYD militants to realize their intent - to create a Kurdish autonomous region in the Syrian region of Jazira, which in the Kurdish media is already mentioned with the Kurdish name of Rojava. In the northeastern province of Hassakè, the self-proclaimed autonomous administration of Rojava has begun implementing a local taxation system to subsidize regional public services and to improve security and public order levels. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 24/7/2017)


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