Assyrian news

By Rudi Stettner Baghdad – Rantrave. — Among the side effects of the war in Iraq is the deteriorating safety condition of the Christians in that country. The overthrow of Sadaam Husein unfortunately created a power vacuum has been filled by Muslims whose interpretation of Islam is dangerous to both …

By Mustafa Mahmoud BAGHDAD – Reuters — Christians in Kirkuk were urged to stand firm by the city’s Chaldean archbishop Monday after three members of the religious minority were gunned down in their homes. Louis Sako told mourners at a cathedral in the ethnically mixed city that the attacks Sunday …

By Michelle A. Vu BAGHDAD – Christian Post — Four Iraqi Christians were murdered within two days by unknown assailants, according to a Christian persecution watchdog group. Shabah Aziz Suliman was reportedly killed in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Apr. 1, and Nimrud Khuder Moshi, Glawiz Nissan and …

By Ayse Gunaysu ISTANBUL, Turkey – Hairenik — On April 24, the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Organization of Turkey organized an event in Istanbul commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The commemoration was held in what was formerly the “tobacco warehouse,” now renovated and being used for exhibitions, events and …

     Kirkuk, Irak – AFP — Gunmen killed two Christians, including a woman, after breaking into their homes in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Sunday, police said. They shot dead Yussef Shaba, an employee of Iraq’s Northern Oil Company, and wounded his two sons, Bassel and Samer, …

     ANKARA – Hurriyet — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has intervened in a land dispute over an ancient Syriac monastery in the southeastern city of Mardin, instructing his ministers to resolve the problem through a peaceful settlement. Erdogan steps into monastery dispute “Our prime minister is closely following the …

     Armenia – PanARMENIAN — Pro-Kurdish Party Leader Ahmet Türk apologized to Armenians and Assyrians for 1915 tragic events, Dogan News Agency reports. “Kurds probably contributed to empire’s cultural wealth annihilation. We feel ashamed when looking at our Armenian and Assyrian brothers,” Mr. Türk stressed, adding that Kurds are always …

Editing by Michael Christie and Matthew Jones MOSUL – Reuters — Tensions between Kurds and Sunni Arabs are rising in Iraq’s volatile northern city of Mosul and the surrounding province following local elections in January which saw Sunni representation jump dramatically. Kurdish-led provincial council members and Kurdish-run towns have vowed …

     PARIS – AFP — Iraq’s Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi urged Iraq’s Christian minority not to flee the country on Wednesday and called on the international community to help protect it from extremists. According to Christian leaders, 250,000 of the 800,000 Christians who lived in Iraq six years ago, …

By Tona Ishaq Mosul, Iraq – AINA — Since the invasion 2003 the situation of the Christian Assyrians in Iraq has deteriorated. Churches have been destroyed, several priests have been killed and at the end of last year thousands of Christians were forced to leave the city of Mosul in …