Two Assyrian parties in Iraq to merge after longtime split, per statement

Yasmeen Altaji | Mar. 3, 2024

Two Assyrian parties teased a merger Saturday after more than a decade-long split.

The Assyrian Democratic Movement, also called Zowaa, and Abnaa al Nahrain (Sons of Mesopotamia, in English) said in a statement Saturday they plan to reunite after a series of “fruitful meetings” between the two parties. According to the statement, the agreement will be “officially announced” Sunday from Bakhdida (Qaraqosh), in the Nineveh Plain.

“Following earnest and diligent efforts from both parties, an agreement on unity and integration has been reached,” the statement, shared by both parties, read.

In 2013, a group of members of ADM split from the party amid rifts under then-leader Yonadam Kanna, forming the runoff that would become the Sons of Mesopotamia (SOM). In 2023, Kanna left his post to be succeeded by Yacoob G. Yaco.

“We in Zowaa and those Zowaa members of Abna al Nahrain share a common philosophy,” Yaco said in an interview with the Sweden-based broadcast channel Assyria TV.

“As we see them, there appear to be two branches. But in thought, we’re all Zowaa,” he said.