MEDYAD (MIDYAT), Tur Abdin — Murat Yarbug, who cycled some 4,300 kilometers for charity from the Swiss town of Gebenstorf, arrived in Medyad after a 37-day journey. He was welcomed by the Syriac community with traditional drums and zurnas. "I committed myself to facing these challenges to draw the attention of all Syriacs to Tur Abdin. And I succeeded," said the 51-year-old banker on arrival.

AMSTERDAM — The genocide of the Suroye (Syriacs–Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans), know as the Sayfo, is now explicitly included in a Dutch history textbook used in secondary education, marking a milestone in a decades-long campaign by Suroye organizations to bring the history of the 1915 genocide into Dutch classrooms. The genocide is addressed in Feniks – Geschiedenis 3, a secondary-school history textbook, where Suroye and Greeks are identified as victims of the mass violence carried out in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, according to…

ABADEEN, QALAMOUN, Syria — A delegation from the Syriac Cultural Association visited the Aramean town of Jabadeen in the Qalamoun region to learn about the town’s current situation and explore its most prominent cultural and heritage landmarks, as part of the Association’s efforts to document Syria’s cultural and linguistic heritage and strengthen communication among its diverse communities. The visit included the local Aramaic Heritage Museum, founded and managed by Imad Fayyad.

Reporting by Marta Sömek for Gazete Sabro — Beyoğlu, one of Istanbul’s symbolic places with a multicultural fabric and historical depth, hosted colorful and meaningful encounters during the European Heritage Days. The days were held from 12-20 September under the theme “Heritage at Risk: Revive, Persist, Imagine,” and brought the history of Beyoğlu to the attention of visitors through more than 60 free events.

TEL TAMR, HASAKAH, GOZARTO (JAZIRA) — The Assyrian Democratic Party (ADP) unveiled the Assyrian Martyrs’ Monument at Assyrian Martyrs’ Square in the city of Tel Tamr, in the Hasakah countryside, in the presence of delegations from the Syriac Union Party (Gabo d’Ḥuyodo Suryoyo, SUP) and the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), along with members of the Syriac (Chaldean-Assyrian-Aramean) community and representatives of political and civil society groups in the region.

MIDEN, Tur Abdin — Students in the village of Midin are prevented from attending classes because of serious cracks in the village school building, Syriac newspaper Gazete Sabro reports. At the start of the 2026–2027 school year, the local primary school is inaccessible and unusable due to safety risks. The cracks started appearing two years ago, are growing larger, and pose a physical risk.

ANKAWA, Iraq — Fifty-seven years after dozens of Iraqi civilians and members of the Suraye (Chaldeans–Syriacs–Assyrians) were killed in the Sorya village massacre, the victims were remembered once again in Arba'ilo (Erbil), where government officials, political, religious, and social figures, and residents of Ankawa gathered to commemorate the killings. The 57th annual commemoration ceremony was held on Wednesday outside the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Ankawa District.

SORYA, Iraq — The modern history of the Suraye (Chaldeans-Syriacs-Assyrians) is overshadowed by massacres and genocides. After the Sayfo Genocide, the Kafno, and the Simele Massacre, the wronged Suraya people were subjected to another massacre on 16 September 1969, in the remote village of Sorya, in the Zakho district of Nohadra (Duhok Governorate) in what is now the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). 

MEDYAD, Turkey — Hundreds of Suroye (Syriacs–Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans) from Europe and the surrounding region gathered in Medyad (Midyat) for the annual Shahro d’Tur Abdin festival, bringing together members of the Suroyo community from the homeland and diaspora while highlighting calls for equal citizenship, cultural preservation, and education in the Suroyo language. Organized by the Federation of Syriac Associations (Süryani Dernekler Federasyonu, SÜDEF), the traditional festival combined music and folk dances with a broader message about the future of the Suroyo presence in Tur Abdin, a historic center of Suroyo life in southeastern Turkey.

By Cristian Aday Last week's elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, indicate new political times that all of us must evaluate carefully. The fact that the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) emerged as the biggest party, with over 44 percent of the vote, in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt should not be viewed merely as a regional election result. The clear outcome shows that debates revolving around migration, identity, security, and the future of German society are likely to become even more intense.

By Melke Kurt The recent statements by mayor Veysi Şahin of Midyat District, in which he indicated that properties originally owned by Syriacs but registered under the Treasury as a result of cadastral surveying procedures, would be “sold” to their “rightful owners,” are completely unacceptable. This proposal is not only legally controversial, but also extremely troubling from a conscientious, ethical, and political standpoint.

By The SyriacPress Editorial Team On 20 August 1926, the foundations of a new city were formally laid on the flat plain south of Nisibis (Nusaybin). Beth Zalin (Qamishli) would become one of the most important centers of Suroyo (Syriac–Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) life in northeastern Syria. In the Suroyo tradition, civilization (mdinoyutho), is closely associated with urban life and the city.

DARAMSUQ (DAMASCUS), Syria — Gabriel Mushe, member of Syria’s People’s Assembly and political official of the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), has called for legislation recognizing the Syriac language and safeguarding the cultural and linguistic rights of Syriacs (Arameans-Assyrians-Chaldeans) in Syria. Speaking to Suroyo TV, Mushe said such rights should be secured through legal and constitutional mechanisms, citing recent legislation concerning Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights and Article 7 of Syria’s Constitutional Declaration.

ŞIRNAK, Turkey — The public prosecutor has requested the conviction of Apro Diril in the case of Hormuz Diril, who disappeared more than six years ago from the village of Mehre (Kovankaya) in Şırnak province, as the trial entered its fourth hearing on Tuesday. The prosecutor asked the court to convict Apro Diril and keep him in detention pending the conclusion of the proceedings.

Based on reporting by Matay Türker ANKARA — The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Turkey re-elected Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan as its co-chairs at its 5th Ordinary Congress in Ankara on Sunday and reaffirmed its support for an ongoing resolution process and broader democratic reforms. The congress, held at the Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center, brought together around 600 delegates as well as representatives from various political parties.

ISTANBUL — The Istanbul Pogrom of 6–7 September 1955 was perhaps the most violent event in the long series of persecution, discrimination, and hate against indigenous peoples in twentieth century Turkish society since the Christian genocides on the region's minorities, 1915-23. On 6–7 September, Rûm, Armenian, Jewish, and Syriac residents of Istanbul and many other Turkish cities were subjected to hate speech and violent attacks.

BETH ZALIN (QAMISHLI), Syria — Echoue Gouriye, Member of the Presidential Body of the Bethnahrin National Council (Mawtbo Umthoyo D’Bethnahrin, MUB), has stressed the importance of unifying political discourse and demands among Christian and Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian-Chaldean) political parties and civil organizations. This unification of political discourse, he argues, is a fundamental factor in safeguarding the existence of Christian and Syriacs and strengthening their ability to guarantee their rights and interests in Syria.

BETH ZALIN (QAMISHLI), Syria — As efforts continue to integrate the remaining institutions of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) into the Syrian state administration, Syriac political leaders are calling for constitutional guarantees to protect minority rights, language education, cultural heritage, and political representation in the country's evolving governance structure. In an interview with…

ANKARA — The exclusion of Sabro, a Syriac newspaper published in Merde (Mardin), from a financial support programme for minority newspapers run by Turkey's Press Advertising Agency (BİK) remains unexplained on legal or administrative grounds. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz merely outlined the agency’s general responsibilities without addressing why the newspaper was excluded from the programme. The issue stems from a parliamentary question submitted in June by Istanbul lawmaker Mustafa Yeneroğlu to Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, concerning the mechanism for providing support to minority newspapers and the exclusion of Sabro from the aid programme.

BRUSSELS — As Syria moves through a precarious political transition, European policymakers, church leaders and Syrian representatives are preparing to gather at the European Parliament next week with a message that goes to the heart of the country’s emerging political order: the future of minorities cannot depend on sectarian quotas or political bargains, but on a constitution that guarantees equal rights to every citizen.

Teachers in the city of Hasakah have criticized the transitional government’s decision to restrict Kurdish-language education to a limited number of hours and confine it to literary subjects, stressin...

The survival of Aramaic, once the Middle East’s lingua franca, is in jeopardy amid regional turmoil. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and

MEDYAD (MIDYAT) \ MERDE (MARDIN), Tur Abdin — A notice issued by the Medyad Municipality requiring people with registered real estate in the district to file property declarations has prompted concern among Syriacs living in the diaspora, with some fearing that new tax obligations could make it harder for families abroad to maintain ties to their ancestral villages. The municipality sent an official notice to village headmen stating that anyone whose name appears on a property registry is required to submit a declaration to the municipality and warning that those who fail to do so could face administrative penalties.

BETH ZALIN (QAMISHLI), Syria — On the centenary of the founding of the city of Beth Zalin, the World Syriac Advisory Council (WSAC) issued a statement reviewing the city’s modern history, highlighting the role played by Syriacs and Christians in its establishment and development. The WSAC criticized what it described as the omission of this role during the recent celebrations marking the occasion.