Thursday, November 12, 2009
Assyrian Christians in Iraq (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
The survival of minority groups in northern Iraq is being threatened by extremists and the political actions of Kurdish leaders, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Hundreds of Christians, Shabaks and Yazidis have been killed in the Kurdish region of the country as a result of attacks by insurgents, who also have tried to destroy the social infrastructure of these minority communities.
HRW also noted that Kurdish officials have tried to assimilate Shabaks and Yazidis into Kurdish culture, turn minorities against one another and crack down on dissenters through acts of violence. Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, told The New York Times, “When you talk about wiping out a whole community that has been there since antiquity, it’s a looming catastrophe.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Minorities in Iraq’s North Seen as Threatened (by Sam Dagher, New York Times)
Iraq: Protect Besieged Minorities (Human Rights Watch)
On Vulnerable Ground (Human Rights Watch)
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