Iraqi Christians abandon Mosul, fearful of Islamic attack on Kirkuk
June 11, 2014
After a victory by Islamic insurgents in Mosul drove Iraqi Christians out of that city, the Islamic forces are now moving on Kirkuk.
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Amel Nona of Mosul, who has taken refuge in a village outside the city, told Aid to the Church in Need that he thought all Christians have now left Mosul. The city had a Christian population of 35,000 a decade ago. “I wonder if they will ever return there,” the archbishop said.
Meanwhile as rebels advanced toward Kirkuk, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako called for the creation of a “government of national unity” to restore order to Iraq.
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Further information:
- Jihadists invade Mosul and Christians flee en masse (Aid to the Church in Need)
- After Mosul, the jihadists of ISIL aim for Kirkuk. Patriarch Sako: a government of national unity is needed (Fides)
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