Tag: Iraq

US to fast-track $35m aid to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis

June 20, 2018 Iraq Bashar Warda, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Trauma, USA

Noeh's family home still stands. A lot of the other homes have been destroyed completely.

The relief agency of the US government is to fast-track some US$35 million in government aid for Iraqi Christians and Yazidis who were terrorised by Islamic State (IS), after Vice President Mike Pence hit out at “bureaucratic delays” in the funds’ distribution. USAID is to give $10 million to two US-based umbrella . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian Rita was sold four times on the IS sex slave market

June 19, 2018 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Quran, Rape, Syria, Trauma, Turkey, Women, Yazidis

Iraqi Christian Rita Habib was sold four times on the ISIS sex slave market. (Photo: Still from video)

Rita, a Christian woman from the Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, was 26 when Islamic State invaded her town and took her captive. She was sold and bought four times as a sex slave before she was freed in 2017 and reunited with her father in April this year, almost four . . . Read More

What churches can do to help victims of sexual violence in conflict to stay ‘part of us’

June 19, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Central African Republic, Children, Iraq, Islamic State, Minorities, Rape, Religious freedom, Seleka, Trauma, UN, USA, Women, Yazidis

Women affected by violence in the Central African Republic, have formed self-help groups in the capital Bangui and run a small shop where they sell their products. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Adrienne* survived a brutal sexual attack during a conflict with ex-Seleka militants in Central African Republic (CAR), only to be ostracised from her own community. Adrienne was alone in her greatest time of need, and the baby born to her nine months later bears the same vulnerabilities, and a label: a . . . Read More

Muslims and Christians unite to restore ancient Iraqi church

June 14, 2018 Iraq Baghdad, Churches, Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Ramadan, USA

An historical Christian site in Iraq is receiving visitors again for the first time in 20 years, having previously been shut off due to security concerns, Al-Monitor reports. The remnants of the first-century Church of Kokheh, located 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of the capital Baghdad, were discovered and excavated . . . Read More

‘Christianity in Syria is under threat from forces the West is supporting’

June 11, 2018 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Civil War, Damascus, Free Syrian Army, Hezbollah, Human rights, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Maaloula, Middle East, Minorities, Russia, Salafism, Shia, Sunni, Syria, UK, USA

Two thousand years of Christianity in Syria could be wiped out by the very forces Western governments are supporting, an Anglican vicar has claimed. Rev. Andrew Ashdown, who has made ten trips to Syria since 2014 and is studying for a PhD in relations between Christians and Muslims there, also . . . Read More

Chaldean Patriarch congratulates surprise Iraqi election winner

May 23, 2018 Iraq Assyrians, Dohuk, Elections, Iraq, Kirkuk, Louis Raphael I Sako, Nineveh Plains, Shia, Sunni, Syriacs

The Chaldean Patriarch, Louis Sako, has telephoned Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr to congratulate him on his unexpected victory in the country’s recent parliamentary elections. The Patriarchate also said that Sako told Sadr he hoped for a government that promotes the common good of all the Iraqi people. According to . . . Read More

Praying for a peacemaker: What do Iraq’s elections mean for the remaining Christians?

May 9, 2018 Iraq Anbar, Chaldeans, Elections, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Kirkuk, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Saddam Hussein, Shia, Sunni

A boy recently returned to his home in the Nineveh plains, looks out over the remains of Karamles (WWM May 2017)

Iraqis go the polls on Saturday (12 May) for the first time since the military defeat of Islamic State, whose campaign of terror against non-Muslims pushed thousands of the country’s last Christians to flee their homeland. Only about 200,000 to 300,000 Christians are thought to remain in Iraq now, mostly . . . Read More

‘Avoid persecution-of-Christians label,’ says Syria expert

May 2, 2018 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Civil War, Education, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Middle East, Migrants, Refugees, Sunni, Syria

As the conflict in Syria continues, freelance journalist Jayson Casper sat down with Miles Windsor, head of advocacy at Christian charity Middle East Concern, to discuss where Syrian Christians’ allegiance lies, whether those who fled the country may return, and how Christians in other countries can help. Jayson Casper: There . . . Read More

The Mosul church that tells the story of a city

April 9, 2018 Iraq Hisbah, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains

“One story of Mosul today can be told through a church in ancient Mosul that was once used by ISIS,” begins a photo essay by Mosul journalist Ali Y. Al-Baroodi. Al-Baroodi, a photographer and translator based in Mosul, has been documenting the destruction and recovery of his home city. His . . . Read More

Palestinian father who lost daughter: ‘Don’t be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel, be pro-justice’

April 5, 2018 Palestinian Territories Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, Education, Egypt, Gaza, Greek Orthodox, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, Minorities, Palestinian Territories, Syria, West Bank, Youth

George Saadeh is headmaster of a school where children are taught to "have respect for those who think differently than you". (Photo: Open Doors International)

A Palestinian Christian father whose 12-year-old daughter was killed by Israeli soldiers has spoken about the ongoing conflict and his decision to forgive the soldiers who shot her, just over 15 years ago. Violence erupted once again at the weekend along the Israeli border with Gaza, leaving at least 16 . . . Read More

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