Iraqi prelate warns against US support for 'Christian militia' groups

May 20, 2016

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has weighed in strongly against the suggestion that the US should provide arms for Christian militia groups in Iraq.

Legislation now pending in Congress would allocate funds for anti-extremist groups and "Christian militia" organizations, offering them military aid and logistical support. The Chaldean Patriarch said that the initiative is "a bad idea." 

"There are no 'Christian militias," but only politicized groups and simple people who are in desperate need of a salary," the Iraqi prelate said. He suggested that if the US is determined to defeat the Islamic State, there will be no alternative by "support the regular armies that are part of the central government and the autonomous Kurdish government."

 

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Further information:

• US set to arm "Christian" anti-extremist militias in Iraq? The Chaldean Patriarch: "It is a very bad idea" (Fides)