A country about to split is today’s Iraq, exhausted by sectarian violence, sunken by an economy that has trouble taking off, and risking a cholera epidemic. And, even if the institutions speak of "tangible progress", in terms of security the Christian communities are persecuted and threatened. This is briefly what has been stated, in an interview with SIR (online tomorrow at su agensir.it), by the archbishop of Kirkuk, mgr. Louis Sako. "It is true that there is some improvement, although small says Sako , but violence is still rife, and sectarian conflicts are serious and will go on. Iraq is about to split. The Kurds already have their independence, the Shiites are getting geared for that, and the Arab Sunnis are doing the same. In these circumstances, Christians are practically and psychologically isolated, forced to migrate north or to Syria". However, explains the archbishop, the Church does not fail to speak of reconciliation: "The Church can act as a bridge and promote dialogue". As to the gradual withdrawal of the US troops from Iraq, Sako has no doubts: "with all the sacrifices the Americans have made, they will not leave Iraq. They have an agenda and plans to stay here forever. Conflicts and regional ambitions are progressively getting worse. How can we think the Americans will ever retreat?".
