AUA: Attack on the Assyrian Churches in Kirkuk

 The Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) condemns the barbaric attack on the Holy Family Syrian Catholic Church in Kirkuk in northern Iraq. The bombing, part of a coordinated attack on Assyrian churches, happened early in the morning on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. More than 20 people were wounded in the attack, including Father Imad Yalda who was inside the church when the bomb exploded. The attack on the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Bagdad in October 2010 claimed the lives of more than 50 people.

The Assyrian Universal Alliance wishes a speedy recovery to all those who were injured in this inhumane act. These premeditated depraved deeds are targeted against the Assyrian people in an attempt to force them to flee their homeland. Weare confident that these criminals will not achieve their goals and that the indigenous people of Iraq will remain in their homeland. The Assyrian nation has over 7,000 years of history rooted in Iraq.Bearing in mind both past and present heinous and unrestrained atrocities leveled against our people, we urge our collective national institutions to unilaterally and unequivocally demand justice for Assyrians in Iraq.

We call upon the government of Iraq to take swift and definitive action to identify the attackers and bring them to justice. In the meantime, we thank the local authorities for disarming explosive devices that would have damaged two other churches, causing an unknown count of casualties.

As Iraq’s indigenous people, Assyrians continue their demand for the establishment of an Assyrian province on our ancestral lands as an integral part of the Federal Republic of Iraq and administrated by Assyrians under the jurisdiction of Iraq’s central government, in which we will provide the security forces necessary to safeguard our people.

We appeal to all democratic governments and human rights organizations around the world to take action against what is happening to the Assyrians of Iraq. By fulfilling the Assyrian demand for the aforementioned province, the government of Iraq will be protecting a peace-loving defenseless segment of its population, establishing a country in which Iraqis of all religions and ethnicities can live together in harmony.

Executive Committee
Assyrian Universal Alliance

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Assyrian Universal Alliance
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