Skip to main content

As Mosul battle nears end, Iraqi Christians wary of return

Despite the liberation of the Ninevah Plains, very few Iraqi Christians have returned to their historical homeland, while the majority of them refuse to return due to security concerns.
Members of the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU), a small Christian militia charged with protecting the predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh (Hamdaniya), pray in a destroyed church in the town which lies some 30 kilometres east of the northern city of Mosul on March 3, 2017.
Qaraqosh was ravaged by IS jihadists, who seized it in June 2014 as they rampaged across parts of northern Iraq, capturing second city Mosul and swathes of the area known as the Nineveh Plain, home to much of the county's d

BAGHDAD — With the liberation of most of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq from the clutches of the Islamic State (IS), which took control of the city in June 2014, some of the displaced Christians began returning home. However, many Christians refuse to return, preferring to remain in the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad or abroad, for fear of suffering the same fate of displacement and captivity once again.

Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad Louis Raphael Sako voiced concerns about the Christians’ return June 18, saying in a press statement, “We have security concerns after the liberation of the land.”

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.