Tag: Mosul

Iraqi Christian couple despair at sight of house IS destroyed

February 14, 2017 Iraq IDPs, Islamic State, Karamles, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Tel Skuf

Almas and her husband, Hathem, stand inside the remains of their house, destroyed by IS, Jan 2017.World Watch Monitor Hathem and Almas are hoping to be among the first people to return to Karamles, a now-deserted town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq. “This is our town, where . . . Read More

‘Many years’ before Mosul stable enough for Christians to return

January 30, 2017 Iraq Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains

Christians and other non-Sunni Muslims from Mosul, northern Iraq, waiting to return after their city’s liberation from Islamic State is completed, may have many years to wait, and their chances of doing so depend on the actions of the Iraqi Government, a leading researcher has warned. Iraqi forces man a . . . Read More

Christians ‘excluded’ from Iraq’s reconstruction plans

January 27, 2017 Iraq IDPs, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Refugees

Christians are being excluded from the reconstruction plans for northern Iraq, further eroding the likelihood of their return once Islamic State has been militarily defeated there, an alliance of UK-based charities has warned. Iraqi Christians firmly believe that Iraq is their spiritual homeland; their presence dates back at least to . . . Read More

Muslims hid Christian woman from IS for years

January 26, 2017 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Tel Kaif

When Iraqi government troops liberated Tel Kaif from Islamic State militias last week, they found that a 60-year-old Christian woman had been hidden for almost three years by her Muslim neighbours, reports Al Araby. Georgette Hanna did not manage to join the thousands of Christians fleeing Mosul and other towns . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian: ‘IS made me spit on a Cross and convert to Islam’

January 18, 2017 Iraq Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Karamles, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

One of the major themes explored in Martin Scorsese’s film, Silence, is the question of how to respond when faced with a choice between denying one’s faith or facing death. Christians in 17th century Japan were given this choice, and it’s the same for Christians in many parts of the . . . Read More

Celebration for thousands of displaced Iraqis ahead of bittersweet homecoming

November 24, 2016 Iraq Erbil, IDPs, Islamic State, Jordan, Mosul, Peshmerga, Refugees, Trauma

The event opened with around 100 young people forming the shape of a cross.Babylon Ministries Thousands of displaced Iraqi Christians celebrated a “Return Festival” as the military advance against Islamic State (IS) in and around the city of Mosul raised their hopes of returning home after two years in . . . Read More

Iraqi Christians ask: Where were our Kurdish protectors when IS came?

November 22, 2016 Iraq Assyrians, Baghdad, Erbil, IDPs, Islamic State, Jordan, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Tel Kaif

A young girl in a camp in Levo, northern Iraq, holds up a picture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. One question that still angers many of the Christians who fled northern Iraq as jihadists from Islamic State (IS) advanced on their towns and villages is, “Where were the Kurdish . . . Read More

Under the shadow of IS: Iraqi Christians tell of crucifixions, torture, sex slavery

November 21, 2016 Iraq Baghdad, Batnaya, Islamic State, Jordan, Kurds, Mosul, Qaraqosh, Refugees

Islamic State jihadists hung Karlus, 29, from the ceiling of the jail he was held in, by a rope attached to his left foot. As blood poured from his foot, they beat and kicked him, rubbing salt into his wounds.ADF International Islamic State (IS) jihadists hung Karlus, a 29-year-old . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian girls, hiding under bed from IS, text priest: ‘Please come for us’

October 25, 2016 Iraq Erbil, Islamic State, Kirkuk, Mosul

“It’s a miracle. A true miracle. We prayed a lot and God answered.” The words of Iraqi Syriac-Catholic priest Ammar in the wake of last weekend’s remarkable story of seven Christian female students in Kirkuk, who hid under their beds for seven hours while soldiers from the self-proclaimed Islamic State . . . Read More

More Iraqi towns ‘freed’ but Nineveh Christians not confident about safe return

October 25, 2016 Iraq Bartella, Bashiqa, Chaldeans, Islamic State, Karamles, Middle East, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Tel Kaif

The heavily damaged and burnt Tahira (Immaculate) Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdeda.World Watch Monitor As prayers were offered in Syriac in front of the altar of the trashed church of Mart Shmoni in the recently freed town of Bartella, more homes where Christians used to live in Iraq’s north-eastern . . . Read More

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