LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Many of Iraq's minorities are on the verge of disappearance after 13 years of war, campaigners warned on Monday.
"The impact on minorities has been catastrophic. Saddam was terrible; the situation since is worse. Tens of thousands of minorities have been killed and millions have fled for their lives," said Mark Lattimer, head of Minority Rights Group (MRG).
Iraq's Christian population, which before 2003 numbered as many as 1.4 million, is now under 250,000, according to a report by MRG and other rights organizations.
Civil conflicts and sectarian tensions have engulfed the country since 2003 when a U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein. In 2014 Islamic State militants declared a caliphate after capturing swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Minorities including the Yazidi, Turkmen, Shabak, Christians and Kaka'i have been disproportionately affected by the recent violence, the report said.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: It is hard to believe that over a century ago Iraq's minorities .... Christians, Jews, Assyrians, etc. comprised a huge part of Iraq's population. Today .... they are all gone. And what is now left .... the two groups that have been responsible for this sectarian extermination (Sunnis and Shiites) .... are now killing each other off.
No comments:
Post a Comment