ArmenPress
Aug 9 2004
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN IRAQ WORK TO RECOVER FROM BLASTS
YEREVAN, AUGUST 9, ARMENPRESS: Iraqi Christians, including
Armenians, worked this week to recover from the blasts on Sunday that
targeted their sanctuaries during services. The first car bomb went
off on Sunday (8/1) outside an Armenian Catholic church in Baghdad
just 15 minutes into its evening service. Five churches in Baghdad
and the northern city of Mosul were hit, killing at least 12 and
injuring dozens more. Fortunately, no Armenians were among those
killed or seriously injured.
Amid fears of future violence and possible assassination of
religious leaders, Christian churches are taking precautions against
future attack, by posting armed guards, closing nearby streets, and
installing barbed wire barriers. Others are scaling back services.
"I don't think we'll have mass next Sunday," Nubar Antoine, a
member of the Armenian Catholic leadership council, said in one news
report.
The Armenian Church community in Iraq has not made any special
plea for international financial or material aid. The Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern) remains in contact with Armenian
community leaders in Iraq.
Aug 9 2004
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN IRAQ WORK TO RECOVER FROM BLASTS
YEREVAN, AUGUST 9, ARMENPRESS: Iraqi Christians, including
Armenians, worked this week to recover from the blasts on Sunday that
targeted their sanctuaries during services. The first car bomb went
off on Sunday (8/1) outside an Armenian Catholic church in Baghdad
just 15 minutes into its evening service. Five churches in Baghdad
and the northern city of Mosul were hit, killing at least 12 and
injuring dozens more. Fortunately, no Armenians were among those
killed or seriously injured.
Amid fears of future violence and possible assassination of
religious leaders, Christian churches are taking precautions against
future attack, by posting armed guards, closing nearby streets, and
installing barbed wire barriers. Others are scaling back services.
"I don't think we'll have mass next Sunday," Nubar Antoine, a
member of the Armenian Catholic leadership council, said in one news
report.
The Armenian Church community in Iraq has not made any special
plea for international financial or material aid. The Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern) remains in contact with Armenian
community leaders in Iraq.