Patriarch Sako: Baghdad handing Christians’ rights to armed factions
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Wednesday, Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako renewed accusations that the Iraqi government has ceded Christian rights and resources to a political and armed faction “claiming to represent the community.”
He did not specify the group in question.
In a meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Anil Bora Inan, Sako said the move entrenches marginalization, weakens Christians’ genuine presence in their homeland, and leaves them hostage to narrow partisan interests.
Calling the community’s situation “painful,” he pointed to shrinking numbers and continued emigration amid the absence of safeguards for political and social rights.
Sako emphasized that Christians are an integral part of Iraq’s historical and cultural fabric and must not be treated as a bargaining chip in political disputes.
According to church leaders and international monitors, Iraq’s Christian population has fallen to an estimated 150,000–250,000 today, down from about 1.5 million before 2003, after years of war and displacement.
Read more: Stolen lives, stolen Homes: the plight of Iraqi Christians
