Status verified as of 22 September 2026. Political positions change; this explainer describes the documented position on that date.
Current position
No dedicated Assyrian autonomous region exists within Iraq or Syria. The Assyrian Democratic Movement and the Nineveh Plain Protection Units continue to operate in Iraq's Nineveh Plain, where displaced Christians have been returning since the area's recovery from the Islamic State in October 2016.[1]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: On 6-7 August 2014, Islamic State forces captured Qaraqosh and other predominantly Assyrian towns in the Nineveh Plain (including Tel Keppe, Bartella and Karamlish), prompting more than 120,000 Assyrian and other Christians to flee, most to Iraq's Kurdistan Region; Iraqi and allied forces recovered the area in October 2016, after which tens of thousands of displaced Christians began returning to damaged towns.
- ISIS overtakes Iraq's largest Christian city (CNN) link, Capture and displacement sections. Source record
Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/assyrian-self-government/status · last substantive update 24 September 2026.