Soriya village monument in Barel, Duhok. Photo: Batel sub-district media
24 Christians, 14 Muslims
Soriya monument renovated to commemorate victims of 1969 massacre
BATEL — Officials have restored a monument in Soriya Village, located in the Batel Sub-district, that honors both Christian and Muslim citizens executed together.
The Duhok Governorate allocated funding for the monument’s renovation last year.
Eiser Jerjis, director of the Batel Sub-district, told 964media that the monument’s renovation is complete and it will soon reopen to the public. He explained that the reopening was delayed due to the district’s recent administrative incorporation under Zakho’s administration. “We are currently working on the reopening,” Jerjis said.
On Sept. 16, 1969, a landmine explosion in the village – aimed at soldiers of the Baath regime – prompted a brutal military retaliation against the villagers. Consequently, 24 Christian and 14 Muslim residents were killed.
Jerjis also claimed that the military commander who ordered the 1969 executions is still alive and living in Mosul, with no legal action taken against him to date. 964media has not independently verified this claim.
He underscored the enduring Christian-Muslim harmony in Soriya Village.
A poignant detail from the massacre’s history involves a high-ranking Christian cleric who visited the village on the eve of the massacre during a religious ceremony. Confronted by an enraged militia, the cleric, clutching a Bible and a cross, beseeched the attackers, “For the sake of God, these villagers have committed no crime.”
Despite his plea, he was the first to be killed, his cross and Bible falling from his hands. He was buried in his cassock after the violence subsided.