Ehud
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 12, 2008
- 2,685
- 338
France has said it is ready to welcome Christians
fleeing the area of Iraq controlled by Islamic State
( IS ) fighters, saying it is "outraged" by their
persecution .
Islamic State fighters seized large swaths of
northern Iraq last month, prompting hundreds of
Christian families in
Mosul to flee a city which has hosted the faith
since its earliest years .
"France is outraged by these abuses that it
condemns with the utmost firmness ," Laurent
Fabius, France 's foreign minister, and Bernard
Cazeneuve, France 's interior minister, said in a
joint statement on Monday.
"The ultimatum given to these communities in
Mosul by ISIL is the latest tragic example of the
terrible threat that jihadist groups in Iraq, but also
in Syria and elsewhere , pose to these populations
that are historically an integral part of this region,"
they added , referring Islamic State 's former name
of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant .
"We are ready, if they wish , to facilitate their
asylum on our soil .
"We are in constant contact with local and
national authorities to ensure everything is done
to protect them , " both ministers said.
UN denounces minority persecution
Islamic State had ordered Christian families to
convert to Islam or leave the city, prompting the
mass exodus .
Those who failed to comply were threatened with
execution , and the property of those who left was
forfeited to the Islamic State , AFP reported a
statement from the group as saying .
The United Nations Security Council has already
denounced the persecution of minorities in Iraq,
warning such actions can be considered crimes
against humanity .
In a unanimous declaration adopted last week , the
Council condemned " in the strongest terms the
systematic persecution of individuals from
minority populations and those who refuse its
extremist ideology in Iraq by ISIL and associated
armed groups ," it said.
Islamic State has also persecuted Iraq 's majority
Shia Muslims in areas under their control , as well
as Sunni Muslims that oppose the group 's
idealogy.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier this
month condemned the treatment of the Christians
and instructed a government committee to help
those made homeless .
Before the 2003 US-led invasion , more than a
million Christians lived in Iraq, including more
than 600 ,000 in Baghdad and 60,000 in Mosul, as
well as a substantial number in Kirkuk and in
Basra.
Source: m.aljazeera.com/story/2014728125854650414
fleeing the area of Iraq controlled by Islamic State
( IS ) fighters, saying it is "outraged" by their
persecution .
Islamic State fighters seized large swaths of
northern Iraq last month, prompting hundreds of
Christian families in
Mosul to flee a city which has hosted the faith
since its earliest years .
"France is outraged by these abuses that it
condemns with the utmost firmness ," Laurent
Fabius, France 's foreign minister, and Bernard
Cazeneuve, France 's interior minister, said in a
joint statement on Monday.
"The ultimatum given to these communities in
Mosul by ISIL is the latest tragic example of the
terrible threat that jihadist groups in Iraq, but also
in Syria and elsewhere , pose to these populations
that are historically an integral part of this region,"
they added , referring Islamic State 's former name
of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant .
"We are ready, if they wish , to facilitate their
asylum on our soil .
"We are in constant contact with local and
national authorities to ensure everything is done
to protect them , " both ministers said.
UN denounces minority persecution
Islamic State had ordered Christian families to
convert to Islam or leave the city, prompting the
mass exodus .
Those who failed to comply were threatened with
execution , and the property of those who left was
forfeited to the Islamic State , AFP reported a
statement from the group as saying .
The United Nations Security Council has already
denounced the persecution of minorities in Iraq,
warning such actions can be considered crimes
against humanity .
In a unanimous declaration adopted last week , the
Council condemned " in the strongest terms the
systematic persecution of individuals from
minority populations and those who refuse its
extremist ideology in Iraq by ISIL and associated
armed groups ," it said.
Islamic State has also persecuted Iraq 's majority
Shia Muslims in areas under their control , as well
as Sunni Muslims that oppose the group 's
idealogy.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier this
month condemned the treatment of the Christians
and instructed a government committee to help
those made homeless .
Before the 2003 US-led invasion , more than a
million Christians lived in Iraq, including more
than 600 ,000 in Baghdad and 60,000 in Mosul, as
well as a substantial number in Kirkuk and in
Basra.
Source: m.aljazeera.com/story/2014728125854650414
