http://www.independent.co.

uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-takes-iraqs-largest-christian
-town-of-qaraqosh-9653789.html

News > World > Middle East
Isis takes Iraqs largest Christian town as
residents told 'leave, convert or die'


1 / 1
Iraqi volunteers who joined government forces to fight against Sunni jihadist militants of the
Islamic State (IS) hold a position at a checkpoint in Udhaim
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Tens of thousands of terrified people have been displaced as
Christians flee area
Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Thursday 07 August 2014












1K

PRINT
A A A
Christians in Iraq are being forced to flee their homes as Islamic State militants continued their
seemingly unstoppable advance across the country.
Ads by Google
Meat Pies in Japan
Steak&Cheese, Mince, Chick&Veg etc. 10 varieties delivered to your door
www.pie-mad.com

0 5000
otoku.aeonsquare.net
Coming Financial Collapse
18 Critical Items You Need To Prepare, Tomorrow May Be Too Late
wealthdaily.com/Financial_Collapse
In an offensive that has seen Isis strengthen their foothold near the Kurdish region, residents of
Qaraqosh, Iraq's biggest Christian town, are now threatened with the demands the Sunni
militants have made in other captured areas - leave, convert to Islam or face death.
The militant group said in a statement on its Twitter account that its fighters had seized 17
towns and targets, the strategic Mosul dam on the Tigris River and a military base in an
offensive that began at the weekend and would continue.
However, two witnesses told Reuters news agency that Islamic State fighters had hoisted the
group's black flag over the dam, which could allow the militants to flood major cities or cut off
significant water supplies and electricity, and local residents told reporters that the Kurdish
forces had been forced out of the area.
In an online statement posted by the The Islamic State on Thursday, the group claimed they had
taken control of the dam and vowed to continue "the march in all directions," adding that it will
not "give up the great Caliphate project."
Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman for the Peshmerga, said that clashes around the dam are ongoing
and he does not know who is in control at this point in time.
Isis captured Qaraqosh overnight after Kurdish Peshmerga troops withdrew from the area.
The BBC has reported that the French organisation Fraternite en Irak said the commander of
the Peshmerga in Qaraqosh told the towns archbishop late on Wednesday that the Kurdish
fighters would be leaving their posts, while they also retreated from nearby Christian towns
including Tel Eskof and Qaramless.
Displaced
families from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing the violence, walk on the outskirts of Sinjar, west
of Mosul.
Bishop Joseph Tomas said the Islamic militants took hold of Qaraqosh and four surrounding
towns of Tilkaif, Bartella, Karamless and Alqosh.
He is based in the Kurdish-held town of Kirkuk, and added that all Christian villages are now
empty.
In pictures: The rise of Isis
1 of 42










































Prev
Next



















































Alqosh resident Father Gabriel said that when the raids started late on Wednesday night, the
Christians and other minority groups ran for their lives, with tens of thousands of people
heading for the Kurdish area of northern Iraq.
Frances foreign minister Laurent Fabius has called for the United Nations Security Council to
hold an emergency meeting over Isiss advances on Thursday.
Mr Fabius said: "Faced with the seriousness of the situation, France requests an emergency
meeting over the situation in Iraq after Islamic State militants seized the countrys largest
Christian city."
Video: Iraqis on Sinjar Mountain terrified of Isis threat
Some 50,000 Christians lived in the town of Qaraqosh, which lies 19 miles to the south east of
the city of Mosul, which Isis captured in June and is now its main base in the country. When the
militants took Mosul, they imposed ultimatums on the ethnic and religious minorities there,
calling on them to convert to Islam, pay a tax or leave, risking death if they did not obey.
Pope Francis has called on world governments to take measures to protect the Christians that
have been driven from their villages in Northern Iraq, and to provide them with humanitarian
aid.
Appealing to the international community, the Pope called on leaders to put an end to the
humanitarian drama underway, adopt measures to protect those who are threatened by violence
and assure them necessary aid, especially urgent for those who are homeless and depend on the
solidarity of others.
Additional reporting from Associated Press; Reuters