Tag: Nineveh Plains

‘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

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

Devastation of liberated Iraqi Christian towns makes return home seem further away than ever

December 15, 2016 Iraq Bartella, Erbil, IDPs, Islamic State, Karamles, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Refugees

Now the smoke has gone from the Nineveh Plain, it is clear that Islamic State fighters dealt one final, vicious blow to the Christian population before surrendering its occupied towns: by systematically setting fire to their homes, thousands have become practically uninhabitable. Suddenly, for many Christians, the prospect of returning . . . Read More

‘We must distinguish between Islam and terrorism’

November 28, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Amman, Boko Haram, Europe, Fulani herdsmen, Hungary, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Jacques Hamel, Jan Figel, Middle East, Nigeria, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Religious freedom

Keeping the distinction between Islam and terrorism clear could prevent an ultimate ‘Clash of Civilisations’, an EU diplomat says. “All this hatred and bloodshed is a misuse of religion,” said Ján Figeľ, the European Commission’s first Special Envoy for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU. . . . 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

6 steps to being a ‘refugee’ in your own country

November 11, 2016 Iraq Erbil, IDPs, Iraq, Nineveh Plains, Refugees

Tens of thousands of Christian families were chased from their homes in north-eastern Iraq when Islamic State jihadists invaded the Nineveh Plains in summer 2014. At first they expected to return within a few days. But the days became weeks, the weeks months, and the months years. World Watch Monitor traces . . . Read More

Alqosh, the last Christian town in Iraq, is here to stay

November 3, 2016 Iraq Alqosh, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga

A view from the Christian town of Alqosh in the Nineveh Plain.World Watch Monitor For more than two years it lasted, just minutes away from Islamic State-held territory. The Iraqi town of Alqosh (50km north of Mosul) is the only Christian stronghold in the country that survived IS. Looking . . . Read More

The Cross, deemed illegal by IS, returns to Iraq’s Nineveh Plain

November 1, 2016 Iraq Karamles, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

There were tears, soldiers praying, priests singing. This was the moment thousands of Iraqi Christians had been waiting for: the Cross, symbol of Christ’s victory over evil, deemed illegal by IS, had returned to the Christian villages in Iraq’s Nineveh Plain. This came as news continues to emerge of more . . . 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

Catching Our Eye