Sayfo; Village of Midun

Village of Midun

Midun is one of the larger villages of Tur Abdin. It lies about 7 miles east of Beth Sbirino. About 500 Syriac families lived there and their leaders were Hanno Callo and Mussa Addai. The Kurdish clans that lived around Midun came together and attacked the Syriac community in the village. The fight lasted one week, without the Kurds succeeding in their objectives and they had to withdraw from the village. But the people of Midun were afraid they might come back because their village was not fortified and was situated in a plain and they decided to flee to Beth Sbirino and they requested armed men to protect them from Beth Sbirino. The leaders of Beth Sbirino sent about 150 armed men to Midun to accompany the Syriac people. The inhabitants of Midun took everything they could carry and went to Beth Sbirino under the protection of the armed men. When the Kurds heard this, they prepared an ambush on the way. When the refugees arrived there, the Kurds opened fire, and there was a fight and some Syriac people were killed, but the rest were saved and reached Beth Sbirino. 

After the Syriac people of Midun left, the Kurds of the Doman clan settled in the village. The original inhabitants stayed away during the period of persecutions because they were scattered throughout Tur Abdin. This situation continued for four years until they were able to go back to their village.