IRAQ: Focus on return of Mosul’s Christians post-ISIS highlights ongoing challenges
MOSUL, Iraq — The issue of Mosul’s Christians returning to their homes after the devastation caused by the Islamic State (ISIS) has garnered significant attention from both local and international media concerned with Christian affairs.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) issued a report emphasizing the ongoing needs of the Iraqi Christian community despite the defeat of ISIS. The report included an interview with the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil, Bishop Mar Bashar Matti Warda, who highlighted that approximately 13,000 Christian and Yezidi families fled to his diocese in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). However, only 9,000 of those families have returned to their homes in Nineveh Plains to rebuild their city.
Bishop Mar Bashar Matti Warda called on the international community to support Christians in restarting their lives and urged the remaining families to return to their cities and homes. He also appealed to the global community to remind Iraqi politicians to prioritize the well-being of minorities in the region.
The Bishop concluded his remarks by expressing gratitude to international organizations that provided assistance to the displaced during the ISIS invasion of Mosul in 2014.