Islamic State pulls down church crosses in northern Iraq as 200,000 flee

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="firstPar"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Islamic State jihadists who took over large areas of northern Iraq overnight have forced thousands of Christians to flee and occupied churches, removing crosses and destroying manuscripts, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako has said.</span></div> </div> <br /> <div class="thirdPar"> </div> <br /> <div class="secondPar" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto;"> <div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> “(The Christians) have fled with nothing but their clothes, some of them on foot, to reach the Kurdistan region,” Patriarch Sako told AFP.</div> </div> <br /> <div class="thirdPar"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alttext="An Iraqi man carrying a cross and a Koran attends a mass at Mar Girgis Church in Baghdad" caption="An Iraqi man carrying a cross and a Koran attends a mass at Mar Girgis Church in Baghdad" copyright="Reuters" declared-caption="" height="287" name="IraaqChurch2" photographer="" refid="2999347" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02999/IraaqChurch2_2999347c.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: inline; overflow: hidden;" version="c" width="460" /></span></div> </div> <div class="fourthPar"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <sub style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;">An Iraqi man carrying a cross and a Koran attends a mass at Mar Girgis Church in Baghdad (Reuters)</span></sub></div> </div> <div class="fifthPar"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“This is a humanitarian disaster. The churches are occupied, their crosses were taken down,” said Sako. He added that up to 1,500 manuscripts were burnt.</span></div> </div> <div class="related-links-float-design related_links_inline" id="tmg-related-links" style="border-bottom-width: 0px !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 10px; overflow: hidden; width: 180px !important;"> <div class="headerOne styleOne" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 122, 143); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 13px;"> <h2 style="border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0.1em; padding: 0px 5px 1px 0px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Related Articles</span></span></h2> </div> <ul style="list-style-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/articleBullet.gif); list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"> <li class="bullet" style="background-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/sprite-icon.gif); background-position: 0px -1048px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 5px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div style="border-top-style: none; display: inline; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11017976/Islamic-State-takes-over-Iraqs-largest-Christian-town.html" style="font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Islamic State takes over Iraq's largest Christian town</a> </div> <span class="relContDate">07 Aug 2014</span></span></li> <li class="bullet" style="background-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/sprite-icon.gif); background-position: 0px -1048px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 5px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div style="border-top-style: none; display: inline; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11016794/40000-Iraqis-stranded-on-Sinjar-mountain-after-Islamic-State-death-threats.html" style="font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">40,000 Iraqis stranded on mountain after death threats</a> </div> <span class="relContDate">06 Aug 2014</span></span></li> <li class="bullet" style="background-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/sprite-icon.gif); background-position: 0px -1048px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 5px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div style="border-top-style: none; display: inline; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/11011634/Islamic-States-new-icon-is-a-hipster-jihadi.html" style="font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Islamic State's new icon is a hipster jihadi</a> </div> <span class="relContDate">06 Aug 2014</span></span></li> <li class="bullet" style="background-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/sprite-icon.gif); background-position: 0px -1048px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 5px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div style="border-top-style: none; display: inline; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11010185/Islamic-State-takes-on-Iraqs-Kurds.html" style="font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Islamic State takes on Iraq's Kurds</a> </div> <span class="relContDate">04 Aug 2014</span></span></li> <li class="bullet" style="background-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/sprite-icon.gif); background-position: 0px -1048px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 5px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div style="border-top-style: none; display: inline; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11007407/Airlines-differ-on-safety-of-flying-over-Iraq.html" style="font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Airlines differ on safety of flying over Iraq</a> </div> <span class="relContDate">01 Aug 2014</span></span></li> <li class="bullet" style="background-image: url(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/sprite-icon.gif); background-position: 0px -1048px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 5px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div style="border-top-style: none; display: inline; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11018857/The-West-is-in-denial-over-the-tragedy-in-Iraq.html" style="font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The West is in denial over the tragedy in Iraq</a> </div> <span class="relContDate">08 Aug 2014</span></span></li> <span id="mv-related-article-item" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span></ul> </div> <div class="body"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The United Nations put the number of people who have fled as high as 200,000, and said that many thousands of people trapped by the militants on Sinjar mountain had been rescued in the past 24 hours.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“We’re just receiving the information right now. We’ve just heard that people over the last 24 hours have been extracted and the UN is mobilising resources to ensure that these people are assisted on arrival,” David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Reuters.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It is a “tragedy of immense proportions”, he said.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alttext="Iraq's ethnic mix" caption="Iraq's ethnic mix" declared-caption="" height="500" name="0808-iraq-ethnic" photographer="" refid="2999773" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02999/0808-iraq-ethnic_2999773a.png" style="border: 0px; display: inline; overflow: hidden;" width="460" />_{Iraq's ethnic mix}</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Pope Francis called on the international community to protect Iraq's Christian community.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A statement delivered by his spokesman said the Pope joined the urgent appeals for peace from bishops in the Middle East and called on the international community to "ensure the necessary help" reaches people fleeing fighters from the Islamic State.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The US denounced the jihadist offensive, warning the situation for civilians driven from their homes threatens to become a "humanitarian catastrophe".</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"It is a situation that that we are looking at very closely," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, following reports that President Barack Obama was actively considering military intervention.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Islamic State militants overran Qaraqosh, Iraq’s largest Christian town, after pushing back Kurdish troops across a large area of the north of the country, fleeing residents and Christian clerics said.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alttext="Displaced Christians wait for humanitarian aid at a church in Hamdaniya town, east of Mosul" caption="Displaced Christians wait for humanitarian aid at a church in Hamdaniya town, east of Mosul" copyright="Reuters" declared-caption="" height="287" name="IraaqChurch3" photographer="" refid="2999351" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02999/IraaqChurch3_2999351c.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: inline; overflow: hidden;" version="c" width="460" /></span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <sup style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;">Displaced Christians wait for humanitarian aid at a church in Hamdaniya town, east of Mosul (Reuters)</span></sup></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jihadists moved in overnight to claim several Christian towns, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee, having pushed back Kurdish peshmerga troops, who are stretched thin across several fronts in Iraq.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alttext="Graffiti with the letter "Noon", the first letter of the world "Nasara", the word used in the Koran for Christians, tagged on the wall of a church (top L and bottom R) and on houses in the Iraqi city of Mosul" caption="Graffiti with the letter &quot;Noon&quot;, the first letter of the world &quot;Nasara&quot;, the word used in the Koran for Christians, tagged on the wall of a church (top L and bottom R) and on houses in the Iraqi city of Mosul" declared-caption="" height="287" name="IraaqChurch4" photographer="" refid="2999354" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02999/IraaqChurch4_2999354c.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: inline; overflow: hidden;" version="c" width="460" /></span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <sup style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;">Graffiti with the letter "Noon", the first letter of the world "Nasara", the word used in the Koran for Christians, tagged on the wall of a church (top L and bottom R) and on houses in the Iraqi city of Mosul</span></sup></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I now know that the towns of Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh have been emptied of their original population and are now under the control of the militants,” Joseph Thomas, the Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah, told AFP.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“It’s a catastrophe, a tragic situation. We call on the UN Security Council to immediately intervene. Tens of thousands of terrified people are being displaced as we speak, it cannot be described,” the archbishop said.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Islamic State group posted a statement online later om Thursday, confirming that they had taken control of Mosul Dam - Iraq's largest dam - and vowed to continue "the march in all directions," adding that it will not "give up the great Caliphate project".</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The group added that it has seized a total of 17 cities, towns and targets - including the dam - over the past five days. The statement could not be verified but it was posted on a site frequently used by the group.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The overnight advance came after the Sunni militants inflicted a humiliating defeat on Kurdish forces in a weekend sweep in the north.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alttext="Area in Iraq controlled by Islamic State in January 2014" caption="Area in Iraq controlled by Islamic State in January 2014" declared-caption="" height="500" name="0808-iraq-jan" photographer="" refid="2999778" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02999/0808-iraq-jan_2999778a.png" style="border: 0px; display: inline; overflow: hidden;" width="460" />_{Area in Iraq controlled by Islamic State in January 2014}</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alttext="Area in Iraq controlled by Islamic State in August 2014" caption="Area in Iraq controlled by Islamic State in August 2014" declared-caption="" height="500" name="0808-iraq-nowFINAL" photographer="" refid="3000138" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03000/0808-iraq-nowFINAL_3000138a.png" style="border: 0px; display: inline; overflow: hidden;" width="460" />_{Area in Iraq controlled by Islamic State in August 2014}</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Several residents contacted by AFP confirmed that the entire area in northern Iraq, home to a large part of the country’s Christian community, had fallen to the Islamic State jihadist group.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tal Kayf, the home of a significant Christian community as well as members of the Shabak Shiite minority, also emptied overnight.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Tal Kayf is now in the hands of the Islamic State. They faced no resistance and rolled in just after midnight,” said Boutros Sargon, a resident who fled the town and was reached by phone in Arbil.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I heard some gunshots last night and when I looked outside, I saw a military convoy from the Islamic State. They were shouting 'Allahu akbar’ (God is greatest),” he said.</span></div> </div> </div>

Islamic State pulls down church crosses in northern Iraq as 200,000 flee

Islamic State jihadists who took over large areas of northern Iraq overnight have forced thousands of Christians to flee and occupied chu...

Read more »