Iraqi prelate: foreign troops, sectarian militias could endanger Iraq’s future

February 06, 2017

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Raphael Louis Sako has said that there is no need for either foreign troops or sectarian militia groups to protect Christians in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains region, recently liberated from the grasp of the Islamic State.

The Iraqi prelate, who has argued against Western involvement in the region, said that an international presence might be temporarily helpful, in encouraging Christians to return to their homes. But he argued that “foreign bullying” could become a danger if troops remained in place, and that militia groups identifying themselves as Christian would deepen sectarian problems.

 

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Further information:

• Chaldean Patriarch: "foreign bullies" or sectarian militias to protect Christians in the Nineveh Plain are not needed (Fides)