Iraqi Christians take up arms to regain lost land
Iraq’s Christians are taking up arms to reclaim land now controlled by the Islamic State, but some worry their efforts could worsen the sectarian divide and further complicate the struggle against the terror group.
BAGHDAD — Christians formed armed units to regain land lost when the Ninevah Plains were invaded by the Islamic State (IS) in June 2014. Though the Yazidi and Christian minorities of the plains distrust the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), this step was still unexpected of a peaceful group. However, the Christians' actions fit in with the prevailing atmosphere: Everyone in Iraq is now armed.
Since early this year, Christians who were displaced from Ninevah to the Kurdish areas have formed militias in affiliation with the KRG's Ministry of Peshmerga, while other Christian groups from different Iraqi areas are under the management of the state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Units.
Christians are no longer following a policy of noninvolvement in ethnic conflicts and armed clashes. They now are considering various options without excluding the idea of cooperation with the federal government and the KRG.
The Christians are well-aware that others, whether Arabs or Kurds, have goals for the lands that are not necessarily aligned with their interests.
