ISIS Expands Control, Begins Persecuting Christians in Mosul
("AINA," June 12, 2014)
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as Da'esh and ISIL)
yesterday took control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Various
agencies are reporting that between 150,000 to 500,000 residents have fled
Mosul.
Two divisions of the the Iraqi army which were stationed in Mosul abandoned
their posts and fled, offering no resistance to the invasion. According to
reports, the army personnel donned civilian clothing and left Mosul by
blending in with the fleeing residents. Some reports say the Iraqi commanders
in Mosul said they were given orders not to fight but to flee, but this has
not been confirmed.
AINA contacted a former member of the Iraqi Parliament, whose identity
cannot be revealed for his safety, who said "The Mosul provincial government
was in collusion with ISIS. The innocent citizens of Mosul are paying the
price of the manipulations of Atheel and Osama al-Nujaifi."
Atheel al-Nujaifi is the current governor of the Nineveh Governorate and is
a hard-line Sunni. It is reported that he fled Mosul ahead of the ISIS
attack.
Today the city of Tikrit, a Sunni stronghold, also fell to ISIS. A source
from Tikrit, which AINA contacted via email, said "We are now calling on all
international organizations for help because we are terrified by what we
are hearing from the street. I wish you could convey our voices to those who
can help to end the farce. The people are currently in the hands of a
conspiracy between the government and the militias." She added "In Tikrit
today, the prisons were opened and looting and pillaging began."
According to reports from Mosul, ISIS has gone on a rampage, looting and
burning government buildings, raising its black flag throughout the city and
burning churches. According to an AFP report, it stormed the Turkish
consulate yesterday and kidnapped 48 people including the head of the
diplomatic
mission.
World Watch Monitor reported that ISIS have moved into Christian areas near
Mosul, and have occupied the Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac)
village of Qaraqosh and entered the St. Behnam Monastery.
ISIS has warned the Christian residents of Mosul, specifically women, to
wear the Islamic veil. The warnings have come at checkpoints setup throughout
the city by ISIS. The husband of an Assyrian woman was abducted at a
checkpoint and threatened with death if his wife did not don the Islamic veil.
ISIS members bombed an Armenian church which was under construction in the
Left Bank neighborhood, near al-Salaam hospital.
The Church of the Holy Spirit was looted by ISIS members, who removed most
of its electrical equipment.
Patriarch Sako of the Chaldean Church issued a statement to Fides, saying
"We believe that the best solution to all these problems is the creation of
a government of national unity in order to strengthen the control of the
State and the rule of law in order to protect the Country, its citizens and
their property and preserve national unity."
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