Christian have been leaving Iraq
since before the 2003 invasion. After the invasion and the rise of sectarian violence, however, the pace of de-Christianization quickened. As Cardinal McCarrick
noted in the
NYRB recently:
Iraqi Christians continue to be targets of systematic violence, especially in Mosul and Ninevah. These Christians belong to ancient communities that once grew and thrived in Iraq but now face potential disappearance there. Christians in Iraq told me of threats they had received to abandon their faith or risk death. Others described how their homes or churches had been attacked.
They seem to be fleeing to neighboring
Jordan and Syria:
Of the 4,000 Iraqi families officially registered as refugees with the agency in Damascus, more than half are Christians. It is believed that there are larger numbers of Iraqis in Syria because it is cheaper to live there than in Jordan. Iraqi Christians also said they have stronger cultural and spiritual ties to Syria. Syrian authorities estimate there are about 300,000 Iraqis in the country.
Even as the human hemorrhage continues, the
violence against those Christians who remain in Iraq goes ever on.
Scores of worshipers and seven Iraqi commandos were killed Sunday night during an hours-long siege of a prominent Catholic church in Baghdad, authorities and church officials said.
The bulk of the bloodletting happened shortly after 9 p.m. when Iraqi Special Operations troops stormed Our Lady of Salvation church in the upscale Karradah neighborhood to try and free worshipers who had been taken hostage. Several of the hostages had already been killed by the assailants who had taken over the church, authorities said. The attempted rescue prompted to detonate suicide vests, multiplying the death toll.(italics added)
Please note the italics above. Most of those who died did so only after the Iraqi military decided to storm the church.
Two Assyrian priests who were presiding over Sunday evening Mass were among those slain during the hours-long encounter. One priest was executed and the other was reportedly killed in an explosion, fellow priest Meyassr Portus said.
"People come here just to pray," Portus said Monday, weeping outside the church as residents swept broken glass off the street and repair crews fixed windows and mangled electrical wires. "They are trying to destroy humanity here. Christians just want to live in peace."
In all, 51 worshipers were killed, including at least eight women and five children, Iraqi authorities said. Nearly 60 people were wounded in the exchange of gunfire and the blasts inside the church.
Official response? Ahem.
Iraqi police officials said five of the attackers were slain and eight were taken into custody. The U.S. military called the takeover a success.
"Last night's operation by the [Iraqi security forces] is proof of their competency to provide professional security to the citizens of Iraq," the military said in a statement.
While I realize officials are faced with hard choices in a situation like this, calling a raid to end a hostage situation "successful" when the bulk of casualties occurred during the raid may not have been the best word choice. Call it, oh, I don't know, "botched", maybe. Anything but successful.
