Church in Iraq Helps Refugees | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome

Vatican City, July 07, 2014 (Zenit.org)

The Chaldean Church in Iraq’s city of Kirkuk has been helping refugees, making economic resources available to families forced to flee their homes.


Intensely engaged in assisting refugees, the Chaldean church in the city distributes food parcels daily to more than 500 families of internally displaced persons who are housed in mosques, schools, sports centers and hostels, reported Fides. The refugees- mainly Muslims – have fled from Mosul and villages that are under the control of Sunni insurgents in the north of Iraq.

Currently, Christian families who arrived in Kirkuk after the offensive of the insurgent militiamen - led by the jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - total less than fifty.

In the coming days, Kirkuk’s Chaldean community is to inaugurate a new initiative designed to distribute air conditioners to families living crammed into tight spaces, partially to make the sweltering heat sustainable.

Ever since June 9, Kirkuk is under the full control of the Kurdish Peshmerga militia. The Kurdish soldiers have organized two lines of defense around the city that have so far dissuaded military attacks and incursions by the Sunni militias in action in north Iraq's convulsive scenery. (D.C.L.)
(July 07, 2014) © Innovative Media Inc.


Source: Church in Iraq Helps Refugees | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome