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ISIS EXPANDS CONTROL, BEGINS PERSECUTING CHRISTIANS IN MOSUL
Assyrian International News Agency AINA
June 12 2014
Posted 2014-06-12 06:13 GMT
An ISIS flag hangs from a bridge in Mosul. On the left it says
"Nineveh Governorate welcomes you" and on the right it says "There
is no God but Allah."(AINA) -- The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS, also known as Da'ash and ISIL) yesterday took control of Mosul,
Iraq's second largest city. Various agencies are reporting that
between 150,000 to 500,000 residents have fled Mosul. Two divisions
of the the Iraqi army which were stationed in Mosul abandoned their
posts and fled, offering no resistance to the invasion. According to
reports, the army personnel donned civilian clothing and left Mosul
by blending in with the fleeing residents. Some reports say the Iraqi
commanders in Mosul said they were given orders not to fight but to
flee, but this has not been confirmed.
AINA contacted a former member of the Iraqi Parliament, whose identity
cannot be revealed for his safety, who said "The Mosul provincial
government was in collusion with ISIS. The innocent citizens of
Mosul are paying the price of the manipulations of Atheel and Osama
al-Nujaifi."
Atheel al-Nujaifi is the current governor of the Nineveh Governorate
and is a hard-line Sunni. It is reported that he fled Mosul ahead of
the ISIS attack.
Today the city of Tikrit, a Sunni stronghold, also fell to ISIS. A
source from Tikrit, which AINA contacted via email, said "We are now
calling on all international organizations for help because we are
terrified by what we are hearing from the street. I wish you could
convey our voices to those who can help to end the farce. The people
are currently in the hands of a conspiracy between the government and
the militias." She added "In Tikrit today, the prisons were opened
and looting and pillaging began."
Unconfirmed photo of a church in Mosul set on fire by ISIS.
According to reports from Mosul, ISIS has gone on a rampage, looting
and burning government buildings, raising its black flag throughout
the city and burning churches. According to an AFP report, it stormed
the Turkish consulate yesterday and kidnapped 48 people including
the head of the diplomatic mission.
World Watch Monitor reported that ISIS have moved into Christian areas
near Mosul, and have occupied the Assyrian (also known as Chaldean
and Syriac) village of Qaraqosh and entered the St. Behnam Monastery.
ISIS has warned the Christian residents of Mosul, specifically women,
to wear the Islamic veil. The warnings have come at checkpoints setup
throughout the city by ISIS. The husband of an Assyrian woman was
abducted at a checkpoint and threatened with death if his wife did
not don the Islamic veil.
ISIS members bombed an Armenian church which was under construction
in the Left Bank neighborhood, near al-Salaam hospital.
The Church of the Holy Spirit was looted by ISIS members, who removed
most of its electrical equipment.
Patriarch Sako of the Chaldean Church issued a statement to Fides,
saying "We believe that the best solution to all these problems is
the creation of a government of national unity in order to strengthen
the control of the State and the rule of law in order to protect the
Country, its citizens and their property and preserve national unity."
http://www.aina.org/news/20140612011342.htm
Assyrian International News Agency AINA
June 12 2014
Posted 2014-06-12 06:13 GMT
An ISIS flag hangs from a bridge in Mosul. On the left it says
"Nineveh Governorate welcomes you" and on the right it says "There
is no God but Allah."(AINA) -- The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS, also known as Da'ash and ISIL) yesterday took control of Mosul,
Iraq's second largest city. Various agencies are reporting that
between 150,000 to 500,000 residents have fled Mosul. Two divisions
of the the Iraqi army which were stationed in Mosul abandoned their
posts and fled, offering no resistance to the invasion. According to
reports, the army personnel donned civilian clothing and left Mosul
by blending in with the fleeing residents. Some reports say the Iraqi
commanders in Mosul said they were given orders not to fight but to
flee, but this has not been confirmed.
AINA contacted a former member of the Iraqi Parliament, whose identity
cannot be revealed for his safety, who said "The Mosul provincial
government was in collusion with ISIS. The innocent citizens of
Mosul are paying the price of the manipulations of Atheel and Osama
al-Nujaifi."
Atheel al-Nujaifi is the current governor of the Nineveh Governorate
and is a hard-line Sunni. It is reported that he fled Mosul ahead of
the ISIS attack.
Today the city of Tikrit, a Sunni stronghold, also fell to ISIS. A
source from Tikrit, which AINA contacted via email, said "We are now
calling on all international organizations for help because we are
terrified by what we are hearing from the street. I wish you could
convey our voices to those who can help to end the farce. The people
are currently in the hands of a conspiracy between the government and
the militias." She added "In Tikrit today, the prisons were opened
and looting and pillaging began."
Unconfirmed photo of a church in Mosul set on fire by ISIS.
According to reports from Mosul, ISIS has gone on a rampage, looting
and burning government buildings, raising its black flag throughout
the city and burning churches. According to an AFP report, it stormed
the Turkish consulate yesterday and kidnapped 48 people including
the head of the diplomatic mission.
World Watch Monitor reported that ISIS have moved into Christian areas
near Mosul, and have occupied the Assyrian (also known as Chaldean
and Syriac) village of Qaraqosh and entered the St. Behnam Monastery.
ISIS has warned the Christian residents of Mosul, specifically women,
to wear the Islamic veil. The warnings have come at checkpoints setup
throughout the city by ISIS. The husband of an Assyrian woman was
abducted at a checkpoint and threatened with death if his wife did
not don the Islamic veil.
ISIS members bombed an Armenian church which was under construction
in the Left Bank neighborhood, near al-Salaam hospital.
The Church of the Holy Spirit was looted by ISIS members, who removed
most of its electrical equipment.
Patriarch Sako of the Chaldean Church issued a statement to Fides,
saying "We believe that the best solution to all these problems is
the creation of a government of national unity in order to strengthen
the control of the State and the rule of law in order to protect the
Country, its citizens and their property and preserve national unity."
http://www.aina.org/news/20140612011342.htm