In The Faith - A Chronicle of the Christian Faith

Migration of believers began after Islamic attack on churches

BAGHDAD/NAJAF, Iraq Tens of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq where fierce battles raged yesterday between American forces and the Mahdi Army militia of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a government official confirmed.

Displacement and Migration Minister Pascale Isho Warda, the only Assyrian Christian in the country’s interim government, said 40,000 Christians had already left Iraq since five church bombings blamed on Islamic militants killed up to 15 people two weeks ago, Agence France-Presse reported.

The number of fleeing Christians was much higher than previously estimated, and more believers were expected to follow amid signs of growing Muslim violence in areas such as the troubled town of Najaf, although the Vatican said late yesterday it was prepared to mediate a halt to the fighting. Al-Sadr reportedly accepted a peace plan today that would disarm his militiamen in Najaf.

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Filed under: Persecution