ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani appealed to his people and the world to come to the aid of Christian refugees who recently fled the violence in Iraq and took refuge in the Kurdistan Region, as he vowed his government would do all it can to help.
"Christian families in Mosul faced increased threats after the city fell into the hands of the armed terrorist groups” more than a month ago, Barzani said. “Unfortunately, they (Christian families) were recently forced to leave Mosul in their hundreds under real and immediate threats. They then took refuge in Dohuk and Erbil provinces empty handed, as they were hindered from taking with them any of their personal possessions," he explained in a statement.
The premier vowed to employ all of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) resources to support the displaced families, and asked "the people of Dohuk and Erbil provinces to rush to help the displaced Christian families."
The statement also underscored the cooperation between the KRG and the United Nations refugee agency to aid hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Kurdistan.
"The number of refugees is on the increase while the Iraqi government has so far failed to take responsibility and help these refugees who have sought asylum in Kurdistan,” Barzani said, noting Erbil’s own dire financial situation since Iraq’s refusal to make budget payments for months.
"In these harsh economic conditions in the Kurdistan Region, due to Baghdad's deliberate and vengeful actions, we urge the international community and humanitarian agencies to step up efforts to help refugees,” Barzani said.
“We also encourage them to support the KRG in order to increase its relief efforts and be able to properly assist these families in times of crises," he added.
On Friday, the Islamic State (IS) militants in control of Mosul gave the city’s Christian population an ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay the Islamic religious tax, or leave the city.
On Saturday, there were reports of the IS torching centuries-old Churches. There were unconfirmed reports the extremists had been marking Christian homes in Mosul with red paint, adding greater terror among the Christians and swelling their fleeing numbers.
A few days after IS seized control of Mosul its fighters abducted two nuns and a number orphans, later demanding $35 million for their release.
Thousands of Christian families are among the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Syrian refugees who have found sanctuary in the Kurdistan Region.
Also on Saturday, the office of Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani released a statement condemning the threats to Mosul’s Christian community and calling on the international community to help the Kurdish government assist the refugees.
“Far from the tradition of coexistence and the principles of human rights and religion, the terrorist groups in charge of Mosul are threatening the Christian brothers and sisters and forcing them to abandon their homes and head to the Kurdistan Region,” said Omed Sabah, the spokesperson for the office of the president.
“We condemn these terrorist and inhumane acts, sympathize with our brothers and sisters and express the Kurdistan Region’s readiness to help and protect them,” he said.
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