Posted on 09/17/2014 1:36:22 PM PDT by NYer
Erbil (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least seven Christian villages in northern Iraq have been freed after a series of clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga and Islamic State jihadists.
The seven villages are located west of Erbil, on the Nineveh plain. The Kurdish military commanders emphasize the fundamental contribution of the air raids carried out by the United States and report that the jihadists mined many houses before fleeing.
Since early August, hundreds of thousands of Christians, Yazidis, Turkmen and Shiites have fled the plain conquered by IS militias, which kills anyone who opposes their fundamentalist Islam and force Christians to choose between conversion to Islam, payment of a "protection" tax or death. The jihadists have conquered about a third of Iraqi territory, including the cities of Mosul and Qaraqosh. The United States has intervened with airstrikes to aid the peshmerga fighters and launched an international coalition to defeat the IS.
The villages that have been freed are close to city of Bartallah and Qaraqosh. In recent days, the city of Alqosh was also liberated. It lies about 50 kilometers north of Mosul. According to Aina news agency, 75% of the Syrian Christians who had fled, have returned to their city, and on September 12 they celebrated the feast of the patron martyr, Mar Qardakh, with a Mass and a procession (see photo). Several people say that life Alqosh is returning to normal, although there is no water or electricity in nearby villages.
The economy, however, is disastrous. Just one example: For more than three months public employees have not received any salary and their families are living on donations from abroad.
Some good news, ping!
OH wow cool
I been following Kurds security on Al Jazeera America I am glad they did it
Thank the Lord!!!!
I say God bless them.
[ I have never heard anything bad about Kurds or Peshmerga. They have come through magnificently for the Christians of the Nineveh Plain.
I say God bless them.]
The sad thing is the amount OUR government has screwed over the kurds in the last 20 years.....
I like them too but I never forget they were major players in the Armenian and Christian genocides under the Ottoman empire...
Mar Qardakh (or Saint Qardagh , as you please ) was an early 4th century martyr in the Eastern Church. He was born during the time of the Sassanid Persian Empire to pagan parents who were nobles in society.
When Qardagh was 25 years old, King Shapur II visited his parents’ estate and was deeply impressed with Qardagh’s handsome appearance and athleticism – especially with his skill at archery. After a particularly successful hunt, the king granted Qardagh a large amount of land and gave him authority as a governor over a large portion of northern Persia.
After two years of living as a nobleman, Qardagh met a Christian hermit named Abdisho’, and his life was never to be the same. After debating heatedly about Christianity and Zoroastrianism and arresting the hermit, there was a series of miraculous events that convinced Qardagh that Abdisho’ was a holy man and that his God was the true one. He faced East, made the sign of the Cross, and begged Christ to forgive him and accept him into his flock. He released the hermit and visited him in his hermitage. After learning the faith, he was baptized.
When he returned home, however, his family began to reject him due to his new faith, and this rejection became more and more violent. Qardagh was sentenced to death by the king due to pressures from the religious elite, but he did not give in so easily. Taking a small army with him, he fled to the mountains and held off the Persian army for a number of months. After valiantly defending himself for so long, Qardagh had a dream in which St. Stephen the Martyr appeared to him and told him that it was better to give his life for his faith than to continue fighting thus. It was his own father who threw the first of the stones that were to give Qardagh the crown of martyrdom. He was buried in Erbil, where a church was dedicated to him.
There are also Catholic schools and medical clinics named for him in Qaraqosh and elsewhere.
Only women, I suppose the men are dead.
Thank you very much, Mrs. D, for posting the history of this saint. May he continue to watch over these christians.
No, the men are being trained or fighting. Also, it is not uncommon in the Middle East for even Christians to practice sex segregation at religious events.
[ I like them too but I never forget they were major players in the Armenian and Christian genocides under the Ottoman empire... ]
That is true, however when looking at all the other groups in the area they are downright moderate and from what I have seen they don’t force as many of their women if any to dress in hefty bags.
> At least seven Christian villages in northern Iraq have been freed after a series of clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga and Islamic State jihadists.
Thanks NYer.
OUR government has made no distinction between us and the Kurds when it pertains to the art of screwing.
If Peshmerga has a way to crowd-fund, I’d give as much as I could.
It was known that Saddam Hussein often visited Christian villages and stayed there because he felt safe in those areas.
Not only in the ME but it was also common in parts of Europe in the 50’s.
Interesting idea!
Thank God for the Kurds, who are willing to fight for the Christians and Yazidis; people who aren’t their own.
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