Christians Say Defeating IS Won’t Make Iraq Safe for Them
As operations to retake the militant-held city of Mosul ramp up, Iraqi Christians displaced from the area by the Islamic State group say that even if the militants are defeated militarily, the country will not be safe for minorities. Qaraqosh, the biggest Christian town on the Nineveh plains in Iraq's north, fell to IS more […]As operations to retake the militant-held city of Mosul ramp up, Iraqi Christians displaced from the area by the Islamic State group say that even if the militants are defeated militarily, the country will not be safe for minorities.
Qaraqosh, the biggest Christian town on the Nineveh plains in Iraq's north, fell to IS more than two years ago and remains under militant control. Most of its displaced inhabitants are living in camps in Iraq's Kurdish region. Hundreds of others fled to neighboring countries, Europe, the United States and further afield.
On the edge of Irbil's historically Christian neighborhood of Ankawa, 1,200 identical white trailers arranged in neat rows shelter some 5,000 people. A handful of families here say they will return home the day their town is liberated. But many say they would rather leave for abroad. Despite the string of military defeats suffered by IS, they say the militants' incursion into Iraq has thrown the future of the country's minority groups into further uncertainty.
