Erbil Christians torn between arming themselves or leaving

The second and final visit of the Lebanese delegation to Iraq, headed by Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, was in Erbil. The delegation discussed how Lebanon can help Iraqi authorities with the displaced who fled the land occupied by the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul, the eastern and western parts of Iraq and some parts of the Ninevah Plains.

A member of the Lebanese delegation told Al-Monitor that the senior Kurdish officials, whom the delegation met with, seemed more interested in the issue of IS and its movements on the ground, as if they were militarily responsible for the current battle. The capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was threatened before the US Air Force intervened. At the beginning of the discussions, a senior official in Erbil did not hide his surprise at the IS attack on the Kurdistan Region.

At the political level, the authorities in Erbil were never on good terms with the authorities in Baghdad that IS declared war on. At the sectarian level, the senior Kurdish official noted his surprise at the IS war on the Kurds, as the overwhelming majority of Kurds are Sunnis, just as the IS fighters are. So why did they attack Erbil? There is no easy answer to this question.

Furthermore, the same official told the Lebanese delegation that IS had scored a victory involving morale in its war against its enemies, before any military achievements on the ground. He said, “We were defeated in terms of morale before the battle had even started. We have been scared and panicked, just as the people have been terrified watching the news on the mass crimes committed [by IS]. In Qaraqosh [also known as Baghdeda], which is the largest Christian town in the Ninevah Plains, the residents left even before IS gunmen headed toward the city. As soon as they heard unofficial and unconfirmed news about the IS advancement, the residents of Qaraqosh packed their belongings and fled toward the north to Ankawa, the Christian neighborhood in Erbil.”