TEL ESQOF, Iraq: Hundreds of Iraqi Christians gathered on Sunday in a church damaged by Daesh north of Mosul, celebrating Easter there for the first time since 2014.
“God willing, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ will also mark the return and rising-up of the Christians in Iraq,” said Kyriacos Isho, 75, who was accompanied by his 12 children and grandchildren at Mar Gewargis (St. George) Chaldean Catholic church in Tel Esqof.
Tel Esqof, or Bishop’s Hill in Arabic, did not sustain the same amount of damage as other Christian towns overrun by the militants three years ago in the plain of Nineveh.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters dislodged the hard-line militants from Tel Esqof just a week after it had fallen, in August 2014. On Sunday, they stood guard around the church.
The militants had smashed the church’s windows, though a new cross has now been put up in place of the one the militants took down.
A fresh breeze on Sunday cooled the white chapel as the choir sang hymns in Chaldean, a language close to the Amaraic spoken by Jesus.
The mass ended with a festive distribution of soft drinks and colored eggs in the inner courtyard by a French group, SOS Chretiens d’Orient.
Daesh targeted all non-Sunni Muslims living under its rule, and inflicted harsh punishment on Sunnis who refused to abide by its extreme interpretation of Islam.
The region’s Christians were given an ultimatum: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most of them fled to the autonomous Kurdish region, across the Zab river to the east.
More than 350 families returned to Tel Esqof which has been more secure since October, when US-backed Kurdish and Iraqi forces launched an offensive to dislodge the militants from Mosul, taking back dozens of villages and towns along the way.
For many, though, Tel Esqof is not really home, but simply a place where they feel safe in the company of relatives or friends.
Madeleine Roufael, a 70 year-old widow, is still waiting to return to Mosul, about 20 km to the south.
“Thank God,” she repeats, grateful to be celebrating Easter once again. “God willing, we will return home.”
Six months into the Mosul offensive, the front line in the battle has moved well into the city, with Daesh fighters surrounded in a few districts on the western side of the Tigris river.
The militants there are dug in among civilians.
Several hundred thousand people are estimated to remain in areas of the city that are still under militant control, complicating the battle plans of the Iraqi army and the US-led coalition providing air and ground support.
It was from a Mosul mosque three years ago that Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared a “caliphate” also spanning a part of Syria.
“I wish peace for Iraq, for Syria, for Lebanon,” said Aws Hermez, the church’s deacon, referring to countries with substantial Christian communities.
“Peace for the whole world.”
Iraqi Christians dream of returning home as they celebrate Easter
Iraqi Christians dream of returning home as they celebrate Easter
Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health ministry said Thursday that an Israeli air strike on a car killed four Palestinians and wounded three near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.
The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed “as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp,” which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.
Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo
- Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza
CAIRO: The leaders of Turkiye and Iran were in Egypt on Thursday for a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, meeting for the first time since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar Assad.
Turkiye historically backed the opposition to Assad, while Iran supported his rule.
The gathering of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, was being held against a backdrop of regional turmoil including the conflict in Gaza, a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and unrest in Syria.
In a speech to the summit, Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for unity and reconciliation in Syria, urging “the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.”
He also voiced hope for “the establishment of a Syria free of terrorism,” where “all religious sects and ethnic groups live side by side in peace.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged action to address the crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, saying that it is a “religious, legal and human duty to prevent further harm” to those suffering in these conflict zones.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited in 2013.
Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi visited Egypt in October, while his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Ahead of the summit, the Iranian top diplomat said he hoped it would “send a strong message to the world that the Israeli aggressions and violations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” would end “immediately.”
Erdogan was in Egypt earlier this year, and discussed with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi economic cooperation as well as regional conflicts.
Established in 1997, the D-8 aims to foster cooperation among member states, spanning regions from Southeast Asia to Africa.
The organization includes Egypt, Turkiye, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia as member states.
Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances
DUBAI: Iraq has begun the process of returning Syrian soldiers to their home country, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of joint operations, emphasized the robust security measures in place along Iraq’s borders with Syria.
“Our borders are fortified and completely secure,” he said, declaring that no unauthorized crossings would be permitted.
Muhammadawi said that all border crossings with Syria are under tight control, stating: “We will not allow a terrorist to enter our territory.”
Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’
ISTANBUL: Turkiye will push ahead with its military preparations until Kurdish fighters “disarm,” a defense ministry source said Thursday as the nation faces an ongoing threat along its border with northern Syria.
“Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organization disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, our preparations and measures will continue within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” the source said.
Hamas says Israeli strikes in Yemen ‘dangerous development’
GAZA: Palestinian militant group Hamas said Thursday that Israel’s strikes in Yemen after the Houthi rebels fired a missile at the country were a “dangerous development.”
“We regard this escalation as a dangerous development and an extension of the aggression against our Palestinian people, Syria and the Arab region,” Hamas said in a statement as Israel struck ports and energy infrastructure in Yemen after intercepting a missile attack by the Houthis.
