Slaughter After The Pull-Out in Vietnam War May Happen To Iraqi Christians
ICC Note
“The suffering of Iraqi Christians has been beyond description and is not yet over. More than ever, the Iraqi Christians need our prayer and support. The latest martyrdom of our brothers should serve to awaken churches in the Western countries to come to the aid of their Iraqi brothers and sisters. We call upon Iraqi officials and the allied forces in Iraq to avert further attacks against Iraqi Christians. It is simply unacceptable to watch the extinction of the Christian community from Iraq .”
04/27/2009 Iraq (AINA)-What many Chaldeans have feared in the U.S. Presidential debate has come true. “We know if America leaves they will come and kill us. They think we have something to do with them and they think we have money. The Iraqi government is happy if all Christians leave. They say they want us to stay, but they don’t mean it. If they mean it, then they would protect us more,” says Masoud Gallozi.
In the past few days Iraq Christians have been targeted for slaughter. The murder of four Christians across Iraq in just two days is raising concern among churches there that another round of religious cleansing has begun.
Chaldean Monsignor Sako warns that US troop pullout is likely to plunge the country in a “civil war.” Between 31 March and 4 April five Christians are murdered in Kirkuk , Baghdad and Mosul . The prelate calls on the faithful to pray during Holy Week so “that the blood of our martyrs may restore peace.”
The killing of four innocent people within the last two days has put a renewed fear in our hearts,” said Julian Taimoorazy, president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, in an interview with ICC.
“What is important,” he continued, “is to keep these continuous atrocities in the media and on the policy makers’ radars. What we need is a more safe and secure Iraq for all of Iraqis, especially for the Christians who have faced ethno-religious cleansing.”
Archbishop Louis Sako told the organization that 750 Christians have been murdered in the past five years, and hundreds of thousands have fled because of the threat of danger.
ICC estimates that half of about 1.2 million Iraqi Christians have abandoned their homes in recent years, many of them fleeing to Syria , Lebanon and Jordan .
Jonathan Racho, the regional manager for ICC in Africa and the Middle East, said, “The suffering of Iraqi Christians has been beyond description and is not yet over. More than ever, the Iraqi Christians need our prayer and support. The latest martyrdom of our brothers should serve to awaken churches in the Western countries to come to the aid of their Iraqi brothers and sisters. We call upon Iraqi officials and the allied forces in Iraq to avert further attacks against Iraqi Christians. It is simply unacceptable to watch the extinction of the Christian community from Iraq .”
