First settled by Assyrians fleeing the Assyrian Genocide and then the Simele Massacre , there are over 30 Assyrian villages on the Khabur river in Syria . According to a 1994 report they are : Tell Tawil , Tell Um Rafa , Tell Um Keff , Tell Kefdji , Tell Djemaa , Tell Tamer , Tell Nasri , Upper Tell Chamran , Lower Tell Chamran , Tell Chamran , Tell Hafian , Tell Talaa , Tell Maghas , Tell Massas , Abu Tine , Tel Goran , Fouedate , Dimchij , Kabar Chamie , Tell Balouet ( Dezn ) , Tell Baz , Upper Tell Rouman , Lower Tell Rouman , El-Kharita , Tell Chame , Tell Wardiat , El-Makhada , Taal , Tell Sakra , El-Breij , Arbouche , and Tell Hormiz . About 9,000 ethnic Assyrians moved from northern Iraq to join already extant Assyrian populations in northeastern Syria following the Simele massacre of 1933 . They settled in the Jazirah near Tall Tamir on the upper Khabur River . The French established this Assyrian settlement with the assistance of the League of Nations , and in 1942 it became an integral part of Syria . The Assyrian settlement on the Khabur valley consists of about 20 villages , primarily agricultural . They have faced severe economic pressures over the years , despite owning their own irrigated lands , and some of them immigrated to the US , where there exists a large community
Simele massacre
Simele massacre
Syrian-Assyrians