Abandoned by the peshmerga, Iraqi Christians form their own militias.(Read more, see link below)
Threatened by the encroachment of the Islamic State group (EI), the Christians of Iraq are beginning to form their own militias, saying that the Kurdish and federal forces have not protected against the jihadists who took several towns and villages Christians.
Sharafya in northern Nineveh Plain. Jihadists who took this village were displaced from mid-August, but a month later, the streets are still empty. The fighters of IE are only a few miles in the village of Tel Kef, and only a few uniformed men roam the area. At first glance, they look like the peshmerga, the Kurdish forces: khaki uniform and a Kalashnikov slung. But embroidered on the sleeve or proudly displayed on the chest, a shield them apart: the Assyrian flag, two crossed rifles.
These men belong to a whole new brigade Assyrian, a Christian people installed for millennia in the Nineveh Plain. Formed on August 11 and named Dwekh Nawsha (Future martyr) in the local dialect of Aramaic, it has a hundred men, according to Lt. Col. Odicho. “We are not very many, but our faith is great,” he said, before returning to work to train new recruits, for the time far from ready.
In FL Geagea
According to the Assyrian Democratic Movement, one of the Assyrian political parties in the region, 2,000 people have already volunteered to fight IE, a Sunni extremist group responsible for numerous atrocities against the Christian minorities in particular. But weapons, uniforms and training are lacking.
In an attempt to strengthen the ranks, a delegation of Iraqi Assyrians went to Lebanon to meet Lebanese Forces (LF), the main Christian militia during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), said a source within the FL AFP. Samir Geagea, leader of the LF, said his party was ready to “support any decision taken by the Christians of Iraq” to stay in this country, the source said.
The creation of “brigades” Christian in Iraq further reiterates the commitment of the Assyrians in neighboring Syria, where they formed the Syrian Military Council, which is actively fighting alongside the party YPG Syrian Kurds in an attempt to overthrow the regime.
(For the record: Ten thousand Christians have applied for a visa at the Consulate of France in Erbil )
A few kilometers Sharafya is al-Qosh Christian town, put on a mountainside, in the shadow of the monastery Rabban Hermizd. None of the AEs there has been a foot, but the population fled early August, when the jihadists have seized several villages below.
In the middle of the deserted streets, you can not miss the building of the Assyrian Democratic Movement. His purple (the color of the party) contrasts with the sand layer that covers much of the region. Inside the building, men in uniform, arms at the feet, sitting around smoking teas. They are all Christians, overwhelmingly civilians, and decided to stay to defend al-Qosh. Just sitting, their voices blend together in a litany of spring where the same: if we’re here, it’s because the Kurdish forces have abandoned us.
The story is the same: on the night of August 6 to 7, when the jihadists have advanced to the villages, the Peshmerga have left, without telling the public. “They let the men of the village alone,” accuses Athra Kado. “Two days ago, they told us that we did not need guns, they would defend us,” adds one of his companions. “The Kurds have not protected us, the Iraqi government has not protected us,” says a third. A hundred men in all patrol day and stay alert at night. Yet peshmerga guard returned and now the entrance to the village. But “maybe they will flee again, so we left,” say Athra Kado.
source: www.lorientlejour.com