Thursday, August 7, 2014

ISIS seizes Iraq’s largest Christian town

Iraq’s largest Christian town, Qaraqosh, was seized by jihadists militants when Kurdish troops withdrew overnight, fleeing residents and Christian clerics told Agence France-Presse Thursday.
“I now know that the towns of Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh have been emptied of their original population and are now under the control of the militants,” Joseph Thomas, the Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah, told AFP.


Several residents contacted by AFP confirmed that the entire area in northern Iraq, home to a large part of the country’s Christian community, had fallen to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group.

The towns were shelled in the past few days by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.

The towns are among many in the area where thousands of Christians who were forced to abandon their homes in the main northern city of Mosul last month had found refuge.
Some of them are less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from Arbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan.
The advance came after the Sunni militants inflicted a humiliating defeat on Kurdish forces in a weekend sweep in the north.
Qaraqosh is an entirely Christian town which lies between Mosul, the jihadists’ main hub in Iraq, and Arbil, the Kurdish region’s capital. It usually has a population of around 50,000.
 

(With AFP and Reuters)
Last Update: Thursday, 7 August 2014 KSA 12:04 - GMT 09:04 
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/07/Witnesses-ISIS-seizes-Iraq-s-largest-Christian-town.html
7/8/14
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4 comments :

  1. El Gobierno francés convocó una reunión urgente del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU sobre la situación en Irak, informó el Ministerio de Exteriores de Francia....

    El grupo extremista Estado Islámico el pasado domingo llevó a cabo una ofensiva en la parte norte de Irak, habitada mayoritariamente por kurdos y cristianos. Los yihadistas ocuparon tres ciudades grandes, entre ellas Sindjar, y la represa más importante del país en la región de Mosul.

    “Francia está vivamente preocupada por el avance del Estado Islámico de Irak y el Levante en el norte de Irak y la toma de Bajdida, la ciudad cristiana más grande del país, así como por las múltiples acciones inadmisibles que se realizan”, dice el comunicado.

    Tomando en cuenta “la gravedad de esta situación en que la población civil y las minorías religiosas resultan los principales afectados”, Francia exhorta a convocar una reunión urgente del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU, “a fin de que la comunidad internacional pueda movilizarse contra la amenaza terrorista en Irak”, se afirma en el
    http://sp.ria.ru/international/20140807/161179541.html
    7/8/14

    ReplyDelete
  2. US President Barack Obama is considering military action to help stranded Yazidi Kurds in Iraq who fled territories captured by Islamic State militants....

    On Thursday, President Obama assembled members of his national security team to discuss the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in regions of Iraq captured by the Islamic State (IS). The US is considering airdrops of humanitarian assistance supplies to Yazidis trapped at the top of Mount Sinjar, as well as airstrikes and other "military options," according to CNN........................http://rt.com/usa/178784-pentagon-aid-kurdish-yazidis/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No American Military Solutions in Iraq, White House Says....

      White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to confirm a report published by The New York Times Thursday that said U.S. President Barack Obama is considering airstrikes and emergency relief airdrops to help 40,000 religious minorities in Iraq who are trapped on a mountaintop after death threats by Islamic militants.

      "The situation is nearing a humanitarian catastrophe," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "We are gravely concerned for their health and safety."

      The White House called the dire humanitarian situation in Iraq a consequence of a broader failure of Iraqi political leaders.

      "There are no American military solutions to the problems in Iraq," Earnest told reporters during the midday briefing, adding that there would be no American boots on the ground.

      Solutions to the humanitarian crisis near Sinjar "will only come through political reforms in Iraq," Earnest said......................http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-considers-airstrikes-against-islamic-state-in-iraq/2406146.html

      Delete
  3. Exode des chrétiens d'Irak : "Ceux qui ont fui n’ont que leurs pieds"...

    Devant l’exode massif de chrétiens fuyant la férule de l'EIIL, l'ONU doit entamer des consultations sur la situation du pays. À France 24, le père Sabri Anar, de l’église chaldéenne Saint-Thomas-Apôtre, pointe l’urgence de la situation.

    Après la chute de Qaraqosh, attaquée mercredi 6 août par les djihadistes de l'État islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), le patriarche chaldéen Louis Sako a affirmé que 100 000 chrétiens avaient été contraints à l'exode et parlé de "désastre humanitaire". À la demande de la France, le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU doit tenir ce jeudi soir à New York des consultations en urgence sur la situation dans le pays. Le pape François a quant à lui lancé un appel urgent à la communauté internationale pour "protéger" les populations chrétiennes du nord de l'Irak.

    Membre du comité de soutien aux chrétiens d’Irak, le père Sabri Anar, de l’Église chaldéenne Saint-Thomas-Apôtre, à Sarcelles, explique sur France 24 l’urgence de la situation.

    France 24 : Vers où et comment ont fui les chrétiens d’Irak ?

    Père Sabri Anar : Ils ont fui vers le Kurdistan irakien, dans de grandes villes comme Erbil. Ceux qui ont fui n’ont que leurs pieds. Certains marchent pendant 30, 40 ou 50 kilomètres dans le désert pour atteindre une ville sûre. Ils ont été obligés de laisser leur maison derrière eux, ils n’ont pas le choix. Jusqu’à présent, ils étaient protégés par les peshmerga, les forces armées du Kurdistan irakien. Mais ceux-ci, ne pouvant plus faire face aux djihadistes, se sont dirigés vers les grandes villes près de la frontière nord.....................http://www.france24.com/fr/20140807-irak-exode-chretiens-eiil-eglise-chaldeenne-urgence-onu-france-sabri-anar/
    7/8/14

    ReplyDelete

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