Tens Of Thousands Of Christians Flee Their Community In Iraq After Islamist Rebel Take Over

Thousands of Christians flee from their community and homes in an Iraqi town,Qaraqosh, near Mosul this week because of nearby violence generated by militant Islamist rebels.

Islamist insurgents reportedly launched mortar attacks on the historic Assyrian town of Qaraqosh on Wednesday, panicking the local Christian community to take flight.

Armed men from ISIS seized control of the town two weeks ago from the government in Bahgdad. U.N. refugee spokeswoman Melissa Fleming stated that most of the estimated 10,000 Christians who have fled have gone to the more secure Kurdish areas of Iraq.

A female resident from a mostly Christian town in the Mosul region says conditions are very bad since ISIL seized control.

“Nothing is the same,” she said. “Since 15 days ago, we don’t have security, electricity and water. Everybody is afraid of ISIS and salaries haven’t been paid either.”

An estimated 300,000 Iraqis from Mosul’s Ninewa province and elsewhere have arrived in the Kurdistan region since the al-Qaida splinter group seized Mosul. Fleming says this latest influx of displaced will put more pressure on limited resources. She says there is a particular shortage of housing and fuel supplies.