The Syriac Security Office ( syr, ܡܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, Mawtbo d'Sutoro Suryoyo, ar, سوتورو), commonly known as the Sutoro or the Sutoro Police, is a Christian Assyrian/Syriac

police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

Jazira Region The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton, ( ku, Herêma Cizîrê, ar, إقليم الجزيرة, syr, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Ponyotho d'Gozarto), is the largest of the three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Administration of No ...

of the

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, M ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, where it works in concert with the general Asayish police force of the canton with the mission to police ethnic Assyrian areas and neighbourhoods. Its establishment is associated with the Syriac Union Party (SUP).

History

Integration in the Rojava institutions

With the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War and the

Rojava conflict The Rojava conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, a Kurdish- ...

, Sutoro units were first organized in town of al-Qahtaniyah (Qabre Hewore), and soon thereafter in

al-Malikiyah Al-Malikiyah ( ar, ٱلْمَالِكِيَّة, al-Mālikīyah; ku, دێرکا حەمکۆ, translit=Dêrika Hemko; ) also known as Derik, is a small Syrian city and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. ...

(Dayrik). The Syriac Union Party maintains warm and friendly relations with its Kurdish neighbours, and it was one of numerous organizations to join the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in establishing a formal administration for self-governance in northern Syria called

Rojava The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and East Syria, sub-regions in the areas of Afrin Region ...

. Following this policy, the Sutoro has sought to align itself with the Kurdish

People's Defense Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democrat ...

(YPG) from an early juncture. Although the Kurds were initially suspicious when it started organizing and wanted its members to either disarm or join Kurdish formations, the Sutoro was soon accepted and welcomed by Kurdish forces. It became fully integrated in the administration of the

, operating alongside the general Rojavan Asayish police force, manning joint checkpoints and patrolling neighbourhoods together, while its paramilitary counterpart, the

Syriac Military Council The Syriac Military Council ( syr, ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, translit=Mawtbo Fulḥoyo Suryoyo, MFS; ar, المجلس العسكري السرياني السوري) is an Assyrian/Syriac military organisation in Syria, part of the S ...

(MFS), joined an alliance with the YPG in January 2014.

Breakaway of group "Sootoro"

The Sutoro Police should not be confused with the

Sootoro The Gozarto Protection Forces ( syr, ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, ar, سوتورو, GPF) and Sootoro ( syr, ܣܘܬܪܐ), united as one organisation, are a regional militia based in Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria, composed o ...

, which has the same name in the Syriac language, but uses the English translation "Syriac Protection Office" and the transliteration "Sootoro". This police organization in the city of

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

was originally founded as the local branch of the Sutero but in late 2013 broke away, turning itself into a militia aligned with the Ba'athist government of

Bashar Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the S ...

. The Sutoro later founded a new branch in Qamishli.

External links

Sutoro - Assyrians/Arameans train to protect their areas in Syria
RT video

References

{{Rojava topics Assyrians in Syria Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Assyrian organizations Dawronoye Law enforcement in Syria

History

Integration in the Rojava institutions

Breakaway of group "Sootoro"

See also

External links

References