Syriac Military Council

Syriac Military Council
ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Official flag of the Syriac Military Council
Active	8 January 2013–Present
Leaders	Gewargis Hanna^[1]
Area of operations	Al-Hasakah Governorate Aleppo Governorate Latakia Governorate Homs Governorate Syria–Iraq border
Strength	2,000+^[2]
Part of	Syriac Union Party
Allies	People's Protection Units Khabour Guards
Opponents	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant al-Nusra Front Ahrar ash-Sham
Battles and wars	2012 Syrian Kurdistan Campaign 2013 Syrian Kurdish–Islamist Conflict 2014 Eastern Syria offensive Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015)

The Syriac Military Council (Syriac: ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo, MFS for short; Arabic: المجلس العسكري السرياني السوري‎) is an Assyrian/Syriac military organisation in Syria. The establishment of the organisation was announced on 8 January 2013. According to the Syriac Military Council, the goal of the organisation is to stand up for the national rights of Syriacs and to protect the Syriac people in Syria.^[3] The organisation fights mostly in the densely populated Syriac areas of the Governorates of Aleppo, Damascus, Al-Hasakah, Latakia, and Homs.^[4]

On 16 December 2013, the Syriac Military Council announced the foundation of a new Military Academy named "Martyr Abgar".^[5]^[6] On December 24, the MFS released photographs showing its members in control of the Syriac village of Ghardukah, located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Qahtaniyah (Tirbespiyê/Qabre Hewore).^[7] The village church had been completely destroyed by Jabhat al-Nusra, which occupied the hamlet before being expelled in mid-October during an operation launched by the People's Protection Units (YPG),^[8] in which MFS members may have participated. On 8 January 2014, the MFS announced that the group had joined the YPG ranks.^[9]^[10]

Tel Brak & Tel Hamis Operations

The MFS was also a part of a YPG-led offensive against Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and Ahrar ash-Sham, which began on 26 December 2013 in Tel Hamis area.^[11] YPG and MFS were unable to hold Tel Brak and failed to capture Tel Hamis, and the offensive was called off in early January. However, on February 23, a pre-dawn raid by the Kurdish People's Protection Units and the Syriac Military Council captured Tal Brak, which was later re-captured by local Arab tribes.^[12]

June Counter-Offensive (Syria-Iraq Border)

MFS along with YPG forces participated in an offensive along the Syrian-Iraqi border. The joint forces managed to drive out ISIS forces after the Islamic group took control of Mosul and most of Ninawa Province during the June ISIS offensive. The operation led to the full control of Til-Koçar, in the Syrian side of the border, and Rabia, in the Iraqi side of the border.^[13]^[14]

August Counter-Offensive (Nineveh & Sinjar)

MFS along with YPG forces and other allies, participated in an offensive in Iraq's province of Nineveh in the district of Sinjar, to protect minorities against ISIL attacks.^[15]

Khabur Valley Operations

Islamic State launched a series of attacks in late February 2015 against Christian villages in the northeastern Hassakeh province located in the Khabur river valley,^[16] with the ultimate goal of capturing the strategic town of Tel Tamer under control of the YPG and MFS. ^[17] In early March 2015 units of the Syriac Military Council and the YPG were involved in heavy clashes in the region, notably around the villages of Tel Nasri and Tel Mghas.^[18] On 15 March 2015, the Council reported it was in control of Tel Mghas.^[19]

References