Wikipedia
Syrian Assyrians or Assyrians in Syria are people of Assyrian descent who live in the country of Syria. They make up around 4–5% of Syria's population. They are distinct from the Syrian Christians of western, southern and central Syria, being Eastern Aramaic speakers rather than Arabic (and formerly Western Aramaic) speakers, and being of Mesopotamian/ Assyrian rather than Levantine/ Aramean origin, and are an ancient pre-Arab indigenous people.
They live primarily in Al-Hasakah Governorate, with a significant presence in the provincial capital and the cities of Qamishli, Malikiyah, Ras al-Ayn, and Qahtaniyah, as well as in Tell Tamer and nearby villages, although some have migrated to Damascus and other western cities.
The Assyrians in the Khabur valley, belong mostly to the Assyrian Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church and some to the Chaldean Catholic Church.
About 9,000 ethnic Assyrians moved from northern Iraq to join already extant Assyrian populations in northeastern Syria following the Simele massacre of 1933. They settled in the Jazirah near Tall Tamir on the upper Khabur River. The French established this Assyrian settlement with the assistance of the League of Nations, and in 1942 it became an integral part of Syria. The Assyrian settlement on the Khabur valley consists of about 20 villages, primarily agricultural. They have faced severe economic pressures over the years, despite owning their own irrigated lands, and some of them emigrated to the USA where there exists a large community.