12/06/2024

A decade after capturing Mosul, Chaldean Catholic archbishop Bashar Matti Warda calls for helping Christians in Iraq

MOSUL, Iraq —  Ten years after the Islamic State (ISIS) took control of Mosul, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil Bashar Matti Warda stated that about 13,200 Christian families have fled to Catholic Archdiocese in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and about 9,000 Christian families have now returned to their homes in the Nineveh Plain.

Archbishop Warda commended the role of the international community, including the Association of Christian Churches, to provide emergency aid and help rebuild destroyed villages, enabling thousands of Christian families to return to their original areas.

“Many Christians have either left Iraq or are planning to leave it due to ongoing economic challenges,” he added.

Archbishop Warda called on the international community not to forget the suffering of Christians in Iraq, in the midst of many crises around the world, calling on the UK government and world leaders to pay attention to Christians, Yezidis and other minorities.

Archbishop Warda also called for helping Christian community in Iraq to keep the flame of Christian faith glowing in the cradle of Christianity in Iraq.