Religion

Half a million Christians migrated to the Kurdistan Region after 2003: KRG director of Christian affairs

“After the liberation of Iraq in 2003 and the outbreak of conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites in central and southern Iraq."

Kurdistan 24 2023/05/17 00:24

Khaleed Albert, director of Christian affairs at the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs of the KRG, speaking to Kurdistan 24, May 16, 2023. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs religious coexistence Nineveh Plain

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Khaleed Albert, Director of Christian Affairs at the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) gave an interview to Kurdistan 24 touching upon many Christian-related issues.

“After the liberation of Iraq in 2003 and the outbreak of conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites in central and southern Iraq, half a million Christians migrated to the Kurdistan Region,” Albert said.

After the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacked Mosul and other parts of Iraq in 2014, 130,000 Christians migrated to different provinces of the Kurdistan Region.

"It is true that some Christians have returned to their homes, but some have stayed here. More than 30,000 families have stayed in Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok," he stated.

Moreover, Albert said that despite several years of ISIS expulsion from their areas, Christians in the Nineveh Plain are still unable to return to their homes. This is due to the lack of services and instability in these areas.

On April 11, 2023, Hemn Mirany, Director General of Diwan at the KRG Ministry of Interior, told Kurdistan 24 that Yezidi and Christian refugees consider the Kurdistan Region as their haven and homeland.

Mirany stressed that the return of refugees to their places depends on the implementation of the Sinjar agreement.