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Coll 17/16(1) 'Iraq. The Assyrian Crisis' [291r] (592/1036)
The record is made up of 1 volume (514 folios). It was created in 17 Jun 1933-31 Aug 1933. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
H . pocument is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government, and should be
4K
returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.] * >
a :)'
Prom IPuiQ .
decode. Kr. Ogilvie Forbes (Bagdad).
6 th August, 1935.
I). 10.25 p.m. 6 th August, 1933.
R. 10.00 a.m. 7ta August, 1953.
No. 221. (R).
. Q T ^
ImPOHTMT
liy telegram No. 219.
Reference half-inch map Zakho and Aski Mosul sheets in
mill -ary posit?_on today is as followsi- Yesterday morning
August 5th advance guard of Assyrians who had broken through
nortn of Feisiikhabur attacked Iraqi force at Dairabun with the
object of diveiting tneir attention while remainder of Assyrians
crossed tne river at the same point. Crossing was effected
unopposed, Iraqi post having been wiped out and it is believed
that nearly all the Assyrians have returned to Iraq and may even
be east of Mosul Zakho road by now probably making for their
villages. Action at Dairabun was broken off at 13.50 Assyrians
leaving 29 dead, no wounded. A few isolated parties have been
dealt with by motor machine gun patrols. About 200 Assyrians
are reported to be preparing to cross the Tigris probably
tonight, it is believed that all the emigrating Assyrians are
nou accoun ted for and it is intended to concentrate Dairabun
^sitka Balah forces at some suitable point on Mosul Zakho road
ana av/aa ^ orders which according to present arrangements may take
the form ol distributing battalions in quarters over the northern
C>> ^ a ^. continuing to press government not to indulge in
f " te P.. 0pe ? atlons eas "t of that road for reasons given in my
^egram No. jig.. b ^
of P 0 li GG J especially the newly enlisted, towards
rewnp+o p s ?y raans ^11 require watching as I already have
^ nfp iainor incidents from Amadia district,
of RO reports that invading Assyrians burnt the bodies
precvp-H racpL officers and mutilated others, special police
straiV™ on ft ?' re h>eing taken to prevent anti-Assyrian" demon-
wagons this afternoon in Bagdad.
nV tossed to Foreign Office No. 221. penenteri to Tseirmt
About this item
- Content
The volume contains papers regarding the Assyrian Crisis in Iraq during 1933. It primarily consists of correspondence between HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Francis Humphrys), HM Chargé d’Affaires to Iraq (George Ogilvie-Forbes), and the Foreign Office.
The papers document the negotiations between Mar Shimun XXIII Eshai – the Patriarch of the Church of the East – and the Government of Iraq, regarding: the spiritual and temporal authority claimed by the Mar Shimun; the Assyrian Settlement Scheme; areas designated for settlement; and clashes between Assyrians, Iraqis and Kurds.
Ogilvie-Forbes and Humphrys reported on the movement of Assyrians into Syria, requests to the Syrian and French authorities that they be allowed to remain, proposals to disarm the group, and clashes with Iraqi troops when numbers of Assyrians returned to Iraq. The papers also document the proposed arrest or exile of the Mar Shimun by the Government of Iraq, and the volume also contains copies of letters exchanged by the Mar Shimun, the Iraqi Interior Ministry, and King Faisal.
The papers document the worsening crisis, including reports of looting and village burning at Dohuk [Dahūk], the murder of Assyrian prisoners by Iraqi armed forces led by Bakr Sidqi, and the Simele Massacre of August 1933. These papers include reports submitted by the Head of the British Military Mission in Iraq (Major General Rowan Robinson), the Administrative Inspector at Mosul (Colonel R S Stafford), and Major D B Thomson of the Assyrian Settlement Office. The file concludes with reports on the Simele Massacre, arrangements for the arrival of Mar Shimun and his family in Cyprus, the work of the Refugee Relief Commission in Mosul and Dohuk, and the establishment by the League of Nations of a Small Minorities Commission to investigate the crisis.
The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (514 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 510; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-510; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2872
- Title
- Coll 17/16(1) 'Iraq. The Assyrian Crisis'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1r:16r, 19r:31v, 33r:38v, 41r:83v, 87r:88r, 91r:237v, 239r:240v, 243r:343v, 348r:351v, 353r:353v, 355r:420v, 422r:431v, 433r:435v, 437r:445r, 446v:489v, 492r:492v, 498r:503v, 506r:510v, iii-r:iv-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence