Christian religious leaders visit Kurdistan 24 to show solidarity after missile attack

"It's a solidarity visit to show we are also part of this tragedy as well."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/03/15 17:48

A Christian delegation led by Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda visited Kurdistan 24 to show their solidarity (Photo: Wladimir van Wilgenburg/Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Archbishop of Erbil Kurdistan 24 Erbil missile attack

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Christian delegation led by Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, the Archbishop of Erbil, visited Kurdistan 24 headquarters building after Sunday's attack in a show of solidarity.

The delegation led by Archbishop Mar Bashar Matti Warda, Archbishop of Chaldean Catholic Church dioceses in Erbil, included His Grace Bishop Mar Nathaniel Nazar, Archbishop of the Syriac Catholic Church in the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk, His Eminence Bishop Mar Nicodemus Dawod Matti Sharaf, and the Archbishop of Syriac Orthodox Church in the Kurdistan Region, Mosul, and Kirkuk.

Today with the esteemed bishops of the Chaldean, Assyrian, & Syriac churches we visited @kurdistan24tv building that was affected badly by the rockets assault against Erbil 2 days ago. We were very saddened, and showed our solidarity to this professional media establishment. pic.twitter.com/m4LHy183fA
— Ano Abdoka ܐܢܘ 𒀭𒀀𒉡 (@AnoAbdoka) March 15, 2022

The Kurdistan Region's Minister for Transportation and Communication Ano Abdoka, himself a Christian, also accompanied the delegation.

"It's a solidarity visit to show we are also part of this tragedy as well. We thank God there were no casualties, just some material damage that could be fixed," Archbishop Mar Bashar Matti Warda told Kurdistan 24.

"But the important message is that Iraq today is in desperate need that all politicians of Iraq come together, to solve and make the well-being of Iraq, and all Iraqis a priority," he said. "This shows Iraq still needs to work more and more for the well-being of the whole country."

"It's not just Erbil that is suffering," he added. "That's also a sign there is a weakness that could be solved only if politicians consider the well-being of Iraq a priority."

On Sunday, 12 ballistic missiles were fired at the Kurdish capital, causing substantial damage to residential buildings and the Kurdistan 24 headquarters.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi visited the Kurdistan Region on Monday and was received by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The two visited the site of the missile attack to survey the damage.