Politics

PM Barzani declares Ankawa as new district

“Ankawa has become an important center for religious and social coexistence as well as reconciliation,” the prime minister said.

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/10/04 11:28

KRG PM Masrour Barzani (center) salutes residents, local officials during his visit to Ankawa, Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG)

Kurdistan Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani declared the multi-ethnic, Christian-majority suburb of Ankawa a new district in Erbil province on Monday.

Accompanied by the governor of Erbil and ministers from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Barzani on Monday morning visited Ankawa. There he met with local authorities and discussed the state of affairs in the newly inaugurated district.

“I am here today to announce that I have decreed minister [of interior], Erbil governor and council to declare Ankawa as a district,” Barzani said in a briefing to local authorities, whom he urged to serve the residents of the new district better.

PM Barzani (top right) is pictured while meeting Ankawa's local authorities as part of his visit to the new district, Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG) — PM Barzani (top right) is pictured while meeting Ankawa 's local authorities as part of his visit to the new district, Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG)

Home to 40,000 people, Ankawa was first made a subdistrict of Erbil in 1956.

“Ankawa has become an important center for religious and social coexistence as well as reconciliation,” the prime minister said, adding it has also hosted displaced Christians from across Iraq who sought refuge there.

Located in northwest Erbil province, Ankawa is home to Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Syriacs, 90 percent of whom are Christians, while the other 10 percent are Muslim.

KRG PM Barzani (center) pose for a photo with a number of female employees in Ankawa, Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG) — KRG PM Barzani (center) poses for a photo with public employees in Ankawa , Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG)

There are nearly 40 churches of different sects of Christianity in the district, including the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church.

Ankawa is also home to the Catholic University of Erbil, a private, not-for-profit university founded in 2015 that provides degrees in arts and sciences.

Barzani congratulated the people of Ankawa, Erbil, and the Kurdistan Region for the suburb’s new status.

PM Barzani along with Erbil's Archbishop Bashar Warda of Chatholic Church during a visit to Maryamana Hospital in Ankawa, Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG) — PM Barzani converses with Erbil's Archbishop Bashar Warda of Catholic Church during a visit to Maryamana Hospital in Ankawa , Oct. 4, 2021. (Photo: KRG)