The Assyrian people , who resided in Simele and its neighbouring area , were subjected to a massacre on August 7 , 1933 , implemented by the Iraqi government . The massacre was the first state-sponsored massacre in Iraq 's young history after the establishment of Iraq in 1921 . An estimated 3000 Assyrians died during the 1933 massacre , most of them in the village of Simele . Thousands were forced to flee to Syria where they currently live in 33 villages of the Khabur plains , in the Al Jazeera region
a massacre
Simele massacre
Simele