ICC Note: The systematic destruction of the Christian people in Iraq and Syria is nothing short of a genocide. The Islamic State has purged the once culturally rich nations of its history and people through slaughter and enslavement. The group came to power in 2014 conquering much of northern Iraq and Syria. The Christian population in Iraq has dropped from 1.4 million to about 200,000 in just a few years. So long as this group continues, there will surely be no Christians left in Iraq, an ancient home to the minority religion.
07/11/2016 Iraq (Christian Daily):Christians and other minorities in Iraq are facing persecution at unprecedented levels and are at the verge of extinction, according to a report released by the Minority Rights Group, as they are suppressed and abused by the Islamic State which gained prominence in the area two years ago.
The Christian population has dwindled from 1.4 million to 300,000 in the last decade, according to some estimates. However, Minority Rights Group put that the number at anywhere between 50,000 to 250,000.
A report released by the United Nations in January said that about 19,000 people have been killed by ISIS in Iraq and over 3.2 million have been displaced since 2014, a recent report by the United Nations said, adding that atrocities perpetrated by the militant nation include severe war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The minorities have struggled to practice their faith in the region devastated by wars and overrun by extremists in the last few years.
Since ISIS became operational in 2014, atrocities and abuses against Christians increased manifolds, when they had to choose between converting to Islam, paying a high jizya tax, or fleeing to other regions. Many of them were also killed and enslaved.
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Thousands of minority women were kidnapped and forced into marriages and sex slavery.
The UK and European parliaments have declared ISIS violence against minorities as genocide, along with the U.S. Department of State.
ISIS committed horrendous acts of torture, maiming, and murders and did not spare the aged or the young. Eyewitnesses narrated accounts of children beheaded in front of their parents, Christians killed and crucified, people bulldozed, thrown from buildings, and burnt alive. The terrorist organization also killed thousands in bomb attacks and suicide bombings.
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