ICC Note: The fight for survival of Christians in Syria has forced many residents to either flee or take up arms. The Syrian military has been unable to defend their lands, and residents have had to form independent militias to defend their homes. Now even Christian women are joining in the fight against the militants from ISIS and other extremist groups  

12/21/2015 Syria (CNS) – A group of about 50 Syrian Christian women have left their homes, jobs, and children to form a new battalion to fight the encroaching ISIS terrorists.
The battalion is called the Female Protection Forces of the Land Between the Two Rivers – referring to the Tigris and the Euphrates.
The unit began graduating recruits in August from its training base in Al-Qahtaniyeh, a town located near the Syrian-Iraqi border about 62 miles west of Mosul, according to an AFP story published last week in The Times of Israel.
ISIS, which has forced many women and girls into sexual slavery, has also driven thousands of Syrian Christians from their homeland since civil war began in the region in March, 2011.
While the all-female unit currently focuses most on defending the Christian parts of Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh Province, Thabirta Samir, 24, says the women know they will be facing ISIS at some time in the future.
“I’m not afraid of Daesh (ISIS), and we will be present in the coming battles against the terrorists,” said Samir, who is partially in charge of training. She previously worked for a Syriac cultural association.
Babylonia, a 36-year-old mother of two, told AFP that she left her hairdressing job and is ready to fight ISIS for the safety and future of her children.“I’m a practicing Christian and thinking about my children makes me stronger and more determined in my fight against Daesh.
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