change language
you are in: home - news newslettercontact uslink

Support the Community

  
June 11 2014

Appeal by Andrea Riccardi for the Christians of Mosul: a humanitarian catastrophe is under way in Iraq

 
printable version

ROME - "In northern Iraq, and especially in Mosul, an explosion of extremist violence is jeopardising the success of a project of religious integration and social development, based on living together and cooperation between Christians and Muslims, which used to be a model throughout the country; and from the fragmentary information that is coming from Mosul Christians are once again the victims of terrorism and massacres.” And the alarm raised by prof. Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, who calls on the international community and the Iraqi government to "do everything possible to break the cycle of violence that seems to aim to halve the Middle Eastern country". Riccardi also launched an appeal in particular to humanitarian agencies so that they "intervene promptly to the rescue of the people on the run - we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people, mostly families with children - that flock to the border with Kurdistan, hampered by the militia of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis)". The victims reported are already numerous and a few sacred buildings, churches and monasteries, have been set on fire.
The Community of Sant'Egidio has followed for some time the evolution of the situation in the province of Nineveh where, until a few days ago, about half of the 400 thousand Iraqi Christians lived. A month ago the president of the Provincial Council Ahmed Bashar Kitti was in Rome as a guest of the Community along with Christian deputy Anwar Hadaya to discuss integration and economic development projects elaborated in the region. "Now, says prof. Riccardi, everything risks to be definitively compromised, and if nothing is done quickly, we will see another humanitarian catastrophe". "We are close - said the founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio – to the Christians persecuted and forced to flee; in particular, to the Chaldean bishop of Mosul, Amel Nona, who has decided to stay close to his faithful persecuted, and to our friend, Syriac Orthodox bishop Daoud Shalaf. Their request for help should not fall on deaf ears".


 ALSO READ
• NEWS
November 6 2017
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

Sant'Egidio at the UN Security Council to report on the situation in the Central African Republic

IT | EN | ES | DE | FR | CA | NL | RU
October 9 2017
ROME, ITALY

Dialogue among religions and commitment to refugees in the talks with the Foreign Minister of Indonesia at Sant'Egidio

IT | EN | NL | ID
October 9 2017
ROME, ITALY

German President Steinmeier visits the Community of Sant'Egidio: ''make the world a peaceful place''

IT | EN | DE | ID
October 5 2017

October 5th, World Teachers' Day 2017: Let everyone go to school... of language, culture, and peace!

IT | EN | ID
October 4 2017
ROME, ITALY

A Conference remembering the 25 years from the signing of the peace in Mozambique: The Italian model that has given hope to Africa

IT | EN | DE | PT
October 4 2017

25 years of peace in Mozambique: the history of a country getting out of war and poverty

IT | EN | ES | DE | PT | ID
all the news
• PRINT
February 11 2019
Vatican Insider

Riccardi: tra Italia e Vaticano c’è freddezza ma non rottura

February 26 2018
Roma sette

Congo e Sud Sudan, Gnavi: «La liberazione ha il nome di Gesù»

February 23 2018
Domradio.de

"Wir können Frieden organisieren wie andere den Krieg"

February 22 2018
Famiglia Cristiana

La preghiera sia un urlo contro le guerre

February 22 2018
Br-Online

Interview mit Sant'Egidio Mitgründer Andrea Riccardi

February 21 2018
Vatican Insider

Sant’Egidio si unisce alla Giornata di digiuno per Congo e Sud Sudan indetta dal Papa

all press releases
• NO DEATH PENALTY
October 10 2017

On 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty let us visit the poorest convicts in Africa

October 7 2015
UNITED STATES

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty - XIII world day against the death penalty

October 5 2015
EFE

Fallece un preso japonés tras pasar 43 años en el corredor de la muerte

September 24 2015

Pope Francis calls on Congress to end the death penalty. "Every life is sacred", he said

March 12 2015
AFP

Arabie: trois hommes dont un Saoudien exécutés pour trafic de drogue

March 12 2015
Associated Press

Death penalty: a look at how some US states handle execution drug shortage

March 9 2015
Reuters

Australia to restate opposition to death penalty as executions loom in Indonesia

March 9 2015
AFP

Le Pakistan repousse de facto l'exécution du meurtrier d'un critique de la loi sur le blasphème

March 9 2015
AFP

Peine de mort en Indonésie: la justice va étudier un appel des deux trafiquants australiens

February 28 2015
UNITED STATES

13 Ways Of Looking At The Death Penalty

February 15 2015

Archbishop Chaput applauds Penn. governor for halt to death penalty

December 11 2014
MADAGASCAR

C’est désormais officiel: Madagascar vient d’abolir la peine de mort!

go to no death penalty
• DOCUMENTS

''Entente de Sant'Egidio'': Political Agreement for Peace in the Central African Republic

Libya: The humanitarian agreement for the region of Fezzan, signed at Sant'Egidio on June 16th 2016 (Arabic text)

all documents