ISIS has been driven out, but unfortunately, this has not led to relief for Iraq’s Christians. Almost all of the Orthodox Christians in Iraq were displaced during the period of war and strife that began early in the 21st century. And now, many of those who have returned home find themselves still in danger, now from the Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
Qaraqosh has for centuries been a predominantly Christian city. Please continue to pray for the Christians of Iraq, and that the Iranian-backed militias, on top of every other group that has targeted the Christians, will not succeed in bringing about the extinction of Christianity in that city or in the surrounding areas.
“Iranian-Backed Militias Pick Up Where ISIS Left Off, Terrorizing Iraq’s Christians,” by George Thomas, CBN, April 18, 2019:
…In 2014, Qaraqosh, like so many other Christian communities across northern Iraq, was overrun by ISIS militants, forcing hundreds of thousands of Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities to flee.
Since the defeat of ISIS, some Christian families are beginning to move back.
But Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, tells CBN News that with the fall of ISIS, a different menace is now taking its place in Iraq’s Christian towns.
“Iranian-backed militias are occupying many of the formerly Christian towns and making it virtually impossible for Christians to come back in,” Anderson, who just returned from northern Iraq, told CBN News. “What ISIS failed to accomplish, that is to have a religious cleansing of Christians in the area, Iran, through their surrogates, may accomplish still.”
