Dwekh Nawsha- An Assyrian Fighting Force in Iraq
by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi – Iraq Insurgent Profiles – November 6, 2014
Christians in Iraq are of a variety of denominations, including Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Church (a Catholic-rite denomination), Syriac Orthodox (Oriental Orthodox) and Syriac Catholic. Within and between these denominations there are competing strands of identity, one of the most notable being that of Assyrian nationalism that sees Iraq’s Christian population as ethnically Assyrian. Though primarily associated with the Assyrian Church of the East, this identity narrative is not exclusive to members of this church. In any case, Dwekh Nawsha’s espousal of Assyrian nationalism becomes immediately apparent from the use of the Assyrian flag in its emblem.
This further became apparent in an interview with the online media representative of the group, who asserted that “there is no difference between Assyrians and Chaldeans in the modern concept of nationhood”- something that those who claim a separate Chaldean ethnic identity would certainly dispute. In a similar vein, the representative characterized the Sutoro movements in Syria (which claim a pan-‘Syriac identity’ irrespective of church affiliation) as “Assyrians also who operate in Syria.” Note also that Dwekh Nawsha does not claim any formal relations with the Sutoro groups.
Politically, Dwekh Nawsha traces the idea of its genesis on 11 August 2014 to the Assyrian Patriotic Party, but the online media representative asserted that the majority of the group’s members- currently claimed at a total of more than 200 fighters and growing (initially in August, based on Rania Abouzeid’s reporting, the contingent was claimed to number some 40 members)- are not formally affiliated with the party.
Below are some photos advertised by Dwekh Nawsha, indicating the group’s presence in the Ninawa (Nineveh) Plains to the north and east of Mosul.
Dwekh Nawsha patrol reportedly in Ninawa Plains, mid-October
Dwekh Nawsha members paying a visit to a monastery in Alqosh (north of Mosul), a Christian locality that has not fallen under IS control.
Dwekh Nawsha fighter posing with a Humvee
A photo released by Dwekh Nawsha to mark the passing of one month after the founding of the group, illustrating the link with the Assyrian Patriotic Party, even as the group’s public discourse also emphasizes self-defense in its messaging and not political partisanship.
Alternative logo of Dwekh Nawsha including the Lamassu, an ancient Mesopotamian deity associated with Assyrian identity.
A Dwekh Nawsha fighter reportedly in the Batnaya area, another Christian locality north of Mosul. September 2014.
Christians in the Middle East are generally beset by too many religious sect, ethnic identity and political divisions to form a united front to advance community interests. In northern Iraq and eastern Syria, considerable general debate exists as to whether the local Kurdish forces (in the latter the Democratic Union Party [PYD] and its autonomous administration, in the former the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG]) can serve as viable protectors or pose a supposed ‘Kurdification’ threat to identity. In Syria that debate has led to the split between the Syriac Union Party’s Sutoro that aligns with the PYD and the Qamishli Sootoro aligned with the regime. Concomitant with the PYD’s superior strength in Hasakah province, Sutoro can be assessed as more influential than the Qamishli Sootoro that has failed to expand into other towns as it hoped and seems generally reliant on donations from Christians living abroad.
In Iraq the debate is whether to throw in one’s lot with the KRG or to try to push for a separate autonomous region in the Ninawa plains. At this stage, however, the latter seems a wholly unviable project, and working now with the Peshmerga and by extension in the framework of the KRG looks to be the only option short of a roll-back of IS and a restoration of central government control to most of Ninawa province. That prospect is currently floundering as the Nujaifi family struggles to bolster its ‘Kata’ib al-Mosul’ initiative in a bid to drive out IS from Mosul.