Attacks on Assyrians in Mosul kill 5, including newborn infant

Five people were killed December 15 as two Assyrian churches of the Syriac Orthodox rite, and a church school were attacked in a series of terrorist bombings in Mosul, after several bombs went off in Baghdad, according to news sources, reports Michael Ireland, chief correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

According to AINA (the Assyrian International News Agency), which provides news and analysis of Assyrian and Assyrian-related issues worldwide, the dead included a newborn infant; 40 others were wounded.

AINA says the US military issued a statement saying they have detained several al-Qaeda members responsible for the attacks.

AINA reports that attacks against the Assyrian Christian population in Iraq have been consistent since 2004.

The news agency states that nearly 50 churches have been attacked since, leaving hundreds of thousands of Assyrians internally displaced, or living as refugees in neighboring countries.

AINA reports that in September and October of 2008, prior to Iraqi provincial elections, a wave of attacks displaced the Christian population from Mosul, causing them to flee to the Nineveh Plains region, Dohuk, or other areas in the northern region of Iraq.

It also states that nearly 40 members of the British Parliament released a statement urging the British Government to look into allegations that the Kurdish Regional Government militia groups were responsible for those attacks.

In a media release, the Assyria Council of Europe (ACE) -- www.assyriacouncil.eu -- "strongly condemns such heinous acts against defenseless populations, and strongly urges the Iraqi Government guarantee that investigations into the attacks against Christians are followed through and that security is increased in civilian areas. "

ACE also "urges that, in accordance with Iraq Constitutional law, locally administered security forces replace the Kurdish militias currently patrolling the Christian areas in the disputed territory of the Nineveh Plains, so they may work in concert with Iraq Security Forces."

AINA goes on to say that the Kurdish politicians have been blocking such a local police force since 2006, ensuring their control of the area, and "it is the strong belief of the Assyria Council of Europe that until security is transferred to the hands of the local people and the national security forces, the Assyrian population will be victims of targeted violence by terrorist groups and controlled violence by Kurdish militias which have political and economic interests in the disputed territories."

AINA says that ACE further "appeals to the European Parliament to pressure the Iraqi Government to fulfill their duty to protect the Assyrian population from further aggression and forced displacement, and to strongly encourage the formation of a police force from the local Assyrian community."

The Assyria Council of Europe (ACE) is an independent body with the aim of raising awareness in the European Union (EU) of the plight of the Assyrian people living on their ancestral lands in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran, an area known as historic Assyria.

The European Union, with its increasingly important role in the Middle East is in a good position to contribute to the maintenance of the native Assyrian communities in the Middle East.

The Assyria Council of Europe is the voice of the Assyrian Diaspora communities in the different EU countries.

The organization is supported by various Assyrian institutions and individuals in Europe and represents thus the general ambitions of the European Assyrians.

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TAGS: Iraq Assyrian churches terrorist bombings al-Qaeda members persecution anti-Christian violence

[12/21/2009]

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