An appeal to put an end to the persecution of the Iraqi Christians was made yesterday by Mar Addai II, Patriarch of the Ancient Assyrian Church of the East. The news was relayed by the website Ankawa.com which speaks of a warning sent to the Prime Minister and to the Iraqi Parliament. "The violence committed against Christians in Iraq, but especially in Baghdad and Mosul, are against the spirit of Islam", stated the Patriarch, whose voice adds up to those spoken over the last few days by the others leaders of the Iraqi Churches, such as Mar Emmanuel III Delly, Chaldeian Catholic patriarch, Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church, and Mor Gregotios Yohanna Ibrahim, leader of the Syrian Catholic Church. Also about the persecution of the Christian, the website Baghdadhope, quoting local sources, speaks of "an extension of the range of action of the armed groups, who are eradicating Christians from Baghdad, district by district. After Dora, once a Christian neighbourhood, the scene of the fiercest violence over these days, where just a few Christians have remained and live barricaded in their homes, now it is the turn of two western neighbourhoods of the capital: Al-Baya’a and al-Thurat. Even in these areas, Christians are beginning to be confronted with the only alternative options left for them: converting themselves to Islam, paying the protection tax, escaping or dying".” ” ” “
