KRG condemns Mosul attacks on Christians

getarticleimageservlet.jpgFuad Hussein, the Kurdistan Region President’s Chief of Staff visited Erbil’s Jimhuri Hospital, which had received a number of the Christian victims. Kurdistan govt condemned a weekend attack on Christian students offers support to victims

The Kurdistan Regional Government KRG in Iraq condemned a weekend attack on Christian students traveling to a university in Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province in northwest Iraq, near the border with Kurdistan region.

Unknown assailants attacked college students in northern Iraq, killing at least two and injuring scores more in a weekend attack.

The KRG in a public statement said:

“It is highly regrettable that civilians especially Christians continue to be targeted in the city of Mosul by terrorists who aim to drive out its Christians, for whom Mosul is their home and has been for a very long time.

The terrorist attack this morning against Christian students en route to school near Mosul resulted in at least one casualty and a number of injuries. The terrorists aim to disrupt the ages-long diversity of Nineveh, which is home to a number of different religious and ethnic groups.

We the Kurdistan Region Presidency condemn the terrorist attack on the Christian students. We also call upon all the concerned parties to work harder to find those responsible for this cowardly act.

We hope that the wounded make a speedy recovery and offer the medical facilities of the Kurdistan Region for the service of the wounded. In the wake of the terrorist attack, the Erbil Emergency Hospital received a number of wounded individuals and has prepared its facilities and staff to assist their fellow medical professionals in Mosul”

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in March that thousands of Christians were displaced from Mosul in northern Iraq because of lingering violence.

The United Nations said the KRG told local universities to open enrollment to displaced Christians after it was revealed they were afraid to attend classes in their hometowns.

A spate of attacks rocked the Christian community of Iraq in 2008, displacing nearly half of the population.

Kurdistan Region Presidency Offers Support to Victims of Sunday’s Attack on Christians

Following Sunday’s attack on Christian students in Mosul, which resulted in wounding tens of students who were on their way to the university, Fuad Hussein, the Kurdistan Region President’s Chief of Staff visited Erbil’s Jimhuri Hospital, which had received a number of the victims.

Fuad Hussein expressed, on behalf of Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani, his sympathy and support for the victims and their families.

The Kurdistan Region is home to tens of thousands of people who adhere to the Christian faith. This crucial component of the Region has been spared the vicious attacks against their brethren in the rest of Iraq. The Kurdistan Region has received thousands of IDPs from the rest of Iraq and has provided them with the safety and security that is enjoyed by the Region’s inhabitants.

While the Christians in the rest of Iraq continue to be targeted by terrorist elements, the Christians of the Kurdistan Region are thriving politically and culturally. The July 25, 2009 parliamentary elections in the Region guaranteed 6 quota seats for the Christian component, 2 for Assyrians, 2 for Chaldeans and Assyrians and one 1 for Armenians. The Syriac language is taught across the Region for all pre-collegial levels for Christians who wish to learn in their mother tongue.

Dr. Fuad Hussein reiterated the President’s concern over the safety of the citizens living in the Nineveh plains, adding that the President strongly condemns such attacks and calls upon the concerned parties to speedily work towards bringing the criminals to justice

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