| 2008 attacks on Christians | |
|---|---|
| Location | Mosul,Iraq |
| Date | October 2008 – January 2009 |
| Target | Christians |
Attack type | Killings, intimidation |
| Deaths | >40[1] |
2008 attacks on Christians in Mosul was a series of attacks which targetedIraqi Christians inMosul,Iraq. The Christians of Mosul, who were already targeted during theIraq War, left the city en masse heading toAssyrian villages inNineveh Plains andIraqi Kurdistan. BothSunni extremists, andKurdishPeshmerga were blamed for the attacks.
Christians and religious minorities in general were badly affected by the rise ofIslamic fundamentalism after theinvasion of Iraq. A number of Christians were killed inBaghdad andMosul, and on 1 August 2004a series of explosions targeted Churches in Baghdad, Mosul andKirkuk leaving 15 dead and 71 injured.[2]
On 13 March 2008, the body of theChaldean Archbishop of the city,Paulos Faraj Rahho, was found buried in a shallow grave near Mosul. Rahho was the highest ranking Christian cleric to be killed in Iraq.[3]
The first series of attacks started in October when Christians families were given choice of death or converting to Islam.[4] By the end of the month around 14 Christians were killed[5] and more than 13,000 were forced to flee toNineveh Plains.[6]The Iraqi government gave $900,000 to help the refugees.[6]
Seven bodies belonging to Christians were found in the streets of Mosul on early November. A house belonging toSyriac Catholic sisters was attacked and two nuns were killed and a third severely injured.[7] Around 500 families were forced to flee the city as a result, where they found refuge in Churches and with relatives in nearby villages.[8]
In January 2009 15 Christians were killed in Mosul and more Christians fled to theNineveh Plains and Christian villages inIraqi Kurdistan seeking safety.[citation needed]
The Christians, however, blamed the attack on thePeshmerga, who were forcing Christians out of their homes by threatening them with death or by killing them. Eyewitnesses claimed that some of the assailants, because of their accent, were easily identified as Kurds attempting to pose as Arabs.[9][10]Rumour circulated that Kurds were posing as Arabs and had secretly targeted the Christians in order to draw them towards the Kurdish side during an anticipated referendum concerning theDisputed territories of northern Iraq, of which the Christians form a substantial minority.
Some Iraqi and American military officials denied the allegations of Kurdish responsibility.[11]Younadem Kana, a member of Iraq’s parliament and head of theAssyrian Democratic Movement, said media reports, including the London-basedAsharq Al-Awsat newspaper, "published lies under my name" accusing the Kurds of allowing violence to displace more Mosul Christians. "My statements were changed and fabrications were published under my name," said Kana, who also heads the Assyrian Democratic Movement. He said the accusation against Kurds, first publicized at a press conference 25 October by Sunni parliamentarian Osama al-Nujaifi, were "baseless."[12]
Accusations against Kurdish groups were also made byal-Hadba Arab political bloc of Mosul, which is led byOsama Al Naijafi and his brother, Atheel, the current governor ofNineveh.[13]
