Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul have dwindled to as few as 500 after a wave of persecution came close to wiping out one of the oldest Church communities in the world.
The latest reports from northern Iraq received by the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) show that Christians are still fleeing Mosul, bringing the total number of those displaced in the past month to almost 10,000. The statistics come amid continuing uncertainty over the identity of the people responsible for the deaths of at least 15 Christians, the destruction of five homes and a campaign of intimidation forcing people to choose between conversion to Islam and possible murder.
In the meantime, Baghdad government ministers admitted to a breakdown in security in Mosul, making their comments at a meeting with displaced Christians in the village of Bartella, outside the troubled city. Reports claim Baghdad has made four arrests in connection with the atrocities in Mosul but no further details have been made available.
A war of words has broken out between the Kurdish regional government based in Erbil and Baghdad, with each in effect blaming the other for the violence in Mosul.
Erbil says extremists loyal to Baghdad are culpable while the Arab authorities highlight the fact that most of the attacks took place in the western part of the city where the Kurds are in control.
Amid continuing safety concerns for Christians in Mosul, a large-scale emergency relief operation is now underway. Aid to the Church in Need is providing food, blankets and medical aid in an emergency aid package of $39,600 being dispatched to Christian towns and villages, mostly in the Nineveh plains. A humanitarian crisis has been averted at least in part thanks to Christians living in the villages opening up their homes to the displaced.
Meanwhile, church halls, schools, pastoral centers and other buildings have been opened up to provide emergency accommodation. Fr. Bashar Warda, who is leading the aid relief operation, thanked Aid to the Church in Need, saying, “What ACN has provided is a real help. The support and prayers that you have given really give our people hope at a time when they feel very vulnerable.”
Before the fall of Saddam Hussein, there were as many as 25,000 Christians in Mosul. The city had one of the largest proportions of Christians in the whole of the country.
