Tag: Nineveh Plains

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

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

Iraq: children wounded in Easter Monday explosion

April 4, 2018 Iraq Bartella, Children, Easter, Erbil, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

Four children were wounded on Easter Monday when a bomb exploded outside a medical complex in Bartella, east of Mosul, according to Iraqi News. No group has claimed responsibility but it is believed that Islamic State militants were behind it, a source told the news site. Despite its military defeat, . . . Read More

Iraq’s Assyrian Christians: persecution and resurgence

April 4, 2018 Iraq Ankawa, Assyrians, Bartella, Chaldeans, Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Kurds, Migrants, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Saddam Hussein, Syria, Women, Yazidis

Samir Gedhya never wanted to leave his home in Qaraqosh for the unknown, even when the Islamic State group was almost at his doorstep, sweeping through the towns of Iraq. As the menace to Qaraqosh loomed, his eldest son Faraj, then 16, decided to flee to France, entering by a . . . Read More

Palm Sunday celebrations mark revival of life in Qaraqosh

March 26, 2018 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Nineveh Plains, Palm Sunday, Qaraqosh

For many Christian families in Qaraqosh, this Easter is particularly special, as they will be celebrating it at home for the first time since fleeing the city in 2014. The city, located in northern Iraq’s Nineveh Plains, was occupied by the Islamic State group for over two years before its . . . Read More

Iraq’s young people must lead its rebuilding, says archbishop

March 21, 2018 Iraq Baghdad, Churches, Iraq, Islamic State, Kirkuk, Minorities, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Shia, Sunni, USA, Youth

Army truck with Iraqi flag on its way in the direction of Mosul. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The rebuilding of Iraq should be guided by its young people, says an archbishop who took in 700 students from Mosul University after the occupation of the city by Islamic State in June 2014. Bishop Yousif Thoma Mirkis of Kirkuk, 170km southeast of Mosul, recently visited the university and reunited . . . Read More

US and UN strike $55 million deal for Iraq’s religious minorities

January 12, 2018 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Minorities, Nineveh Plains, UN, USA

Iraqi families like that of 12-year old Noeh will receive assistance in returning home after they fled IS. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Ethnic and religious minorities in northern Iraq are set to receive assistance worth US $55 million from the UN’s international development agency (UNDP), funded by the US government. USAID, the development agency of the US government, said the money would be used to help minorities living in parts of Iraq . . . Read More

Pakistan and Iraq: Christmas joy mixed with grief

December 24, 2017 Christmas, Iraq, Kirkuk, Multan, Nineveh Plains, Pakistan, Quetta

How will Christians under pressure for their faith celebrate Christmas? In the first of our series we hear from Pakistan and Iraq. Pakistan: Pattern of suicide attacks during festivals This is the fourth time in three years that suicide bombers have targeted churches or gatherings around Christian festivals. Last Sunday . . . Read More

British PM Theresa May hears about plight of Christians in Middle East

December 14, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Middle East, Mike Pence, New York, Nineveh Plains, Theresa May, UK

The British Prime Minister Theresa May was briefed on the plight of Christians and minorities in the Middle East in a meeting yesterday (13 December) with an Iraqi priest who has been looking after refugees who fled IS violence. Father Daniel Alkory highlighted the plight of Christians and minorities in . . . Read More

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