ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Thursday stated that it strongly condemns an attack on Assyrian Christians in Duhok city earlier this week while they were celebrating Akitu - the Assyrian-Babylonian New Year. The mission also commended the security forces for swiftly arresting the perpetrator.
An axe attack targeted Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac Christian celebrants gathered in Duhok city on Tuesday to celebrate Akitu. The assailant injured a young man and an elderly woman from Nineveh province who had come to Duhok to partake in the festivities.
The UN mission in Iraq said in a statement that it strongly condemns the attack, stating that the assault "disrupted what was meant to be a peaceful and joyful religious celebration."
The statement cited its chief Mohamed al-Hassan as praising "the swift and effective response by Iraqi authorities, which led to the immediate apprehension of the perpetrator."
He added that the attack "threatens the spirit of coexistence and tolerance that Iraqis and the Iraqi authorities have worked diligently to rebuild and preserve," calling the authorities to "to ensure those responsible are held accountable."
The Kurdistan Region Presidency on Wednesday strongly condemned the attack.
“While strongly condemning this crime, we assure all Kurdistanis that the Kurdistan Region, as always, will remain a homeland of coexistence, peace, and stability for all its components, and in no way will it allow the disruption of the culture of coexistence, mutual acceptance, and tolerance. The criminal will face legal punishment,” the Kurdish presidency said in a statement.
It noted that it remains in contact with relevant authorities to uncover the circumstances behind the “criminal attack.”
On Tuesday night, the Kurdistan Region Security Council said the attacker shared the Islamic State’s (ISIS) ideology. “A person with terrorist beliefs sharing the ISIS ideology attacked citizens with a sharp tool in the bazaar,” it said in a statement, adding that the assailant is a Syrian national.
Videos verified by Rudaw English show the assailant shouting “Islamic State!” after being tackled and disarmed by Assyrian Christians in the celebration.
He was then arrested by Kurdish security forces (Asayish) and the victims were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Celebrations of Akitu - which take place on April 1 - are largely centered on the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac community’s ancestral homeland of the Nineveh Plains and Duhok.
