Iraq's Christians worry over the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict

Many Christians are uncertain about their future in Iraq after government forces, with the help of Shia militia, retook most of the disputed territories in Iraq controlled by the Kurds.

Kurdish forces had controlled these areas since they pushed ISIL out in 2014. A recent Kurdish referendum on separation from Iraq spurred the central government to military action, and now Christians in Al Qosh aren't sure what the future holds.

Al Qosh remains under Kurdish control, but its inhabitants fear the possibility of losing their homeland and are continuing to look for ways to survive between two competing governments.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/1...124549838.html

In my opinion Kurds/USA are preparing for something big. Kirkuk etc was just a trap that Kurds and USA lured Iraq/Iran into. Kurds or USA wouldn't give up Kirkuk without massive casualties at least.

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Originally Posted by Hudayar

In my opinion Kurds/USA are preparing for something big. Kirkuk etc was just a trap that Kurds and USA lured Iraq/Iran into. Kurds or USA wouldn't give up Kirkuk without massive casualties at least.

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Its all in the hands of the U.S and Israel, the Kurds cannot do shit without their approval support, so you are right.

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Originally Posted by Hudayar

In my opinion Kurds/USA are preparing for something big. Kirkuk etc was just a trap that Kurds and USA lured Iraq/Iran into. Kurds or USA wouldn't give up Kirkuk without massive casualties at least.

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I don't think so that's the case. The U.S does not want to get itself into another Mideast war and a mess. They are no match for the Shia Arab militas who are motivated by religious zeal and nationalism. The Hasheed Al-Shabai are well known for their wanton cruelty and savage fighting skills. As long this war does not spill into the Western regions, we still maintain our neutrality and being ruled by tribal sheikhs which Baghdad does not have imposition. The Iraqi government already have said no region can split. This was enforced due to the Kurds wanting independence, but it did not when the Western regions tried to do so. Not to mention Iraq also had minimized the budget and has slowly taken their autonomy away.

Christians seem to be dwindling in numbers in the middle east. Lebanon was at one point a majority Christian,, I am sure those numbers are much lower now and this caused massive instability in Lebanon. Israel has to setup some type of apartheid other wise Israel will end up as majority Muslim/arab just due to demographics. People forget a lot of Arabs live in Israel also.

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Originally Posted by JohnSmith

Christians seem to be dwindling in numbers in the middle east. Lebanon was at one point a majority Christian,, I am sure those numbers are much lower now and this caused massive instability in Lebanon. Israel has to setup some type of apartheid other wise Israel will end up as majority Muslim/arab just due to demographics. People forget a lot of Arabs live in Israel also.

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The situation in Lebanon is very different from Iraq and it ties to the creation of Israel itself. However the Christian minority is mostly located in Northern Iraq near the Kurdish regions. They became minority due to Kurdish migrations form Iran for a long time. That said Christians fear the conflict between Iraq mostly ruled by Shia Arabs and the Kurds, might effective them negatively. They also don't know what side to pick, but they probably favor the Kurdish rule, since they tend to be less religious oriented than the Shia Arabs. It was the Shia Arab militas that conquered and even had threatened to take Kurdish autonomy. No one would mess with the Shia Arab militas, the only ones capable of defeating it are the Sunni Arab tribes of the Western region. The Shia Arab religious zeal but also wants to take revenge for the Kurds expelling them from Kirkuk in which they have control off now.