Dwekh Nawsha
| Dwekh Nawsha | |
|---|---|
| ܕܒ݂ܝܚ ܢܦ̮ܫܐ | |
Dwekh Nawsha emblem | |
| Leaders | Emanuel Khoshaba Youkhana, Majid Elya |
| Dates of operation | 2014 – 2018 |
| Allegiance | Assyrian Patriotic Party |
| Motives | Regional defence Armed resistance |
| Active regions | Nineveh Plains, Assyrian homeland |
| Size | 15-50 (reported 250 light infantry) |
| Allies | Iraqi Armed Forces Peshmerga Nineveh Plain Protection Units Nineveh Plain Forces Qaraqosh Protection Committee |
| Opponents | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Website | Archived 2017-10-17 at the Wayback Machine |
Dwekh Nawsha (Syriac: ܕܒ݂ܝܚ ܢܦ̮ܫܐ; literally "self-sacrificing") was an Assyrian military organization created in June 2014. The group was created in response to the Fall of Mosul and the takeover of the ISIS in order to defend Iraq's Assyrian (and Christian) population. The militia worked primarily to defend Assyrian villages in the Nineveh Governorate.
The Dwekh Nawsha operated in coordination with regional and international security forces (namely the Peshmerga), and was under the command of the Assyrian Patriotic Party. Observers noted that many of the militiamen who were part of the organization were not members of the party, nor were they ethnic Assyrians. Several Christian foreign fighters joined the group and worked to defend Assyrian communities; they include Americans, French, British and Australians.
The militia is not known to have had significant roles in combat during the War in Iraq, acting as more of a reserve for when necessary, and retrospectives of the militia often cite its placement in the larger conflict between the Kurdish Regional Government and the Federal government of Iraq over disputed territories. The group was eventually disbanded.