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CHRISTIANS KILLED AND KIDNAPPED IN IRAQ
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.01.2009 14:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The lifeless body of an Armenian was found yesterday
by the army in Mosul (Northern Iraq).
The abandoned body uncovered in a street in the east of the city was
that of 36-year-old Chourik Bagrad.
Sources in Mosul - a city with one and a half million inhabitants,
360 km north of Baghdad - confirmed that it was a an execution style
killing: multiple gunshot wounds to the head. His body was later
discarded in al-Bakr district, where it was found by police and
brought to the morgue for an autopsy.
The same sources refer that a Christian was also kidnapped New Years
Eve in Mosul. The man, whose name is not to publish for security
reasons, was kidnapped and held hostage for four days. He was only
freed after the payment of 50 thousand dollars ransom. During his
detention he was tortured over and over again. "If we hadn't paid
the ransom - the source confirms - they would certainly have killed
him. They are criminal gangs, who kidnap for money."
Despite government claims and reports proclaiming that security
standards have improved, Mosul remains "a volcano ready to explode
at any moment".
The situation for Christians there is still tragic. In October alone 16
faithful were killed and 2000 families forced to flee. Groups linked
to Al-Qaeda are operative in the area, targeting Christians during
sprees, destroying their homes and properties, threatening them with
letters, abductions and attacks. A hate campaign perfectly constructed
to drive them from the land of their birth, AsiaNews reports.
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.01.2009 14:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The lifeless body of an Armenian was found yesterday
by the army in Mosul (Northern Iraq).
The abandoned body uncovered in a street in the east of the city was
that of 36-year-old Chourik Bagrad.
Sources in Mosul - a city with one and a half million inhabitants,
360 km north of Baghdad - confirmed that it was a an execution style
killing: multiple gunshot wounds to the head. His body was later
discarded in al-Bakr district, where it was found by police and
brought to the morgue for an autopsy.
The same sources refer that a Christian was also kidnapped New Years
Eve in Mosul. The man, whose name is not to publish for security
reasons, was kidnapped and held hostage for four days. He was only
freed after the payment of 50 thousand dollars ransom. During his
detention he was tortured over and over again. "If we hadn't paid
the ransom - the source confirms - they would certainly have killed
him. They are criminal gangs, who kidnap for money."
Despite government claims and reports proclaiming that security
standards have improved, Mosul remains "a volcano ready to explode
at any moment".
The situation for Christians there is still tragic. In October alone 16
faithful were killed and 2000 families forced to flee. Groups linked
to Al-Qaeda are operative in the area, targeting Christians during
sprees, destroying their homes and properties, threatening them with
letters, abductions and attacks. A hate campaign perfectly constructed
to drive them from the land of their birth, AsiaNews reports.