Simele massacre | |
---|---|
![]() Aerial view of Batarshah in northern Iraq, an Assyrian village destroyed by Arabs and Kurds in August 1933 | |
![]() Area where villages were looted
Heavily targeted Assyrian villages | |
Native name | مذبحة سميل (Arabic)[1] ܦܪܲܡܬܵܐ ܕܣܸܡܹܠܹܐ (Syriac)[2][3] |
Location | Northern Kingdom of Iraq, notably at Simele |
Coordinates | 36°51′30″N 42°51′0.35″E / 36.85833°N 42.8500972°E |
Date | 7 August 1933 | – 11 August 1933
Attack type | Summary executions, mass murder, looting |
Deaths | Several hundred (British estimate)[4][5][6] 3,000–6,000 (Assyrian estimate) |
Victim | Assyrians |
Perpetrators | Royal Iraqi Army (led by Bakr Sidqi, Arab and Kurdish tribes[7] |
Motive | Anti-Christian sentiment |
The Simele massacre (Arabic: مذبحة سميل, romanized: maḏbaḥat Simīl), also known as the Assyrian affair,[8] was committed by the Kingdom of Iraq, led by Bakr Sidqi, during a campaign systematically targeting the Assyrians in and around Simele in August 1933.
The number of deaths was estimated by British officials at 600.[5] Some Assyrian estimates are higher, positing that as many as 6,000 were killed and over 100 Assyrian villages were destroyed and looted.[9][10]
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