Nineveh Plain Protection Units

Nineveh Plain Protection Units
Nineveh Plain Protection Units
ܚܕܝ̈ܘܬ ܣܬܪܐ ܕܫܛܚܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ
	Emblem of the NPU.
Leaders	Behnam Abush
Dates of operation	December 2014 – present
Allegiance	Assyrian Democratic Movement
Active regions	Nineveh Plains; Northern Iraq
Status	Active
Size	600-1,000 active; 5,000 reserve fighters
Part of	Iraqi Armed Forces Nineveh Operations Command; ;
Opponents	Islamic State; Popular Mobilization Forces Babylon Brigade; ;
Battles and wars	War in Iraq (2013–2017) Battle of Mosul; Shirqat offensive; ;
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The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (Classical Syriac: ܚܕܝ̈ܘܬ ܣܬܪܐ ܕܫܛܚܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ Ḥḏāywāṯ Settārā da-Šṭāḥā d-Nīnwē; Arabic: وحدات حماية سهل نينوى) or NPU is an Assyrian paramilitary organization that was formed in late 2014, largely but not exclusively by Assyrians in Iraq to defend themselves against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).^[7] The Nineveh Plains is a region where Assyrians originate from and have lived there for thousands of years.^[8]

^ Benham Abush, a former general in the Iraqi army and the NPU’s first commanding officer
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference Newsweek2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Contested Control: The Future of Security in Iraq's Nineveh Plain (PDF). Assyrian Policy Institute. June 1, 2020. p. 34.
^ ^a ^b Nour Malas for the Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2015. The Assyrian Christians Take Up Arms To Fight ISIS
^ Kefford, George (2023). Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU). Modern Insurgent.
^ "About the NPU".
^ John Burger for Aletia. December 4, 2014 Christians in Iraq Forming Militia to Defend, and Possibly Retake, Ancestral Lands
^ Steven Nelson for U.S. News & World Report. Feb. 6, 2015 Iraqi Assyrian Christians Form Anti-ISIS Militia, and You Can Legally Chip In

[1] Benham Abush, a former general in the Iraqi army and the NPU’s first commanding officer

[Newsweek2015-2] Cite error: The named reference Newsweek2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Contested-3] Contested Control: The Future of Security in Iraq's Nineveh Plain (PDF). Assyrian Policy Institute. June 1, 2020. p. 34.

[wsj.com-4] Nour Malas for the Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2015. The Assyrian Christians Take Up Arms To Fight ISIS

[5] Kefford, George (2023). Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU). Modern Insurgent.

[6] "About the NPU".

[aleteia-7] John Burger for Aletia. December 4, 2014 Christians in Iraq Forming Militia to Defend, and Possibly Retake, Ancestral Lands

[UN&WR2015-8] Steven Nelson for U.S. News & World Report. Feb. 6, 2015 Iraqi Assyrian Christians Form Anti-ISIS Militia, and You Can Legally Chip In

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