Ephrem to LBCI: Iraq's Christians are the victims of a ‘slow-motion’ genocide

The president of the Syriac League in Lebanon Habib Ephrem said Christians in Iraq are being subjected to genocide in "slow-motion".        

"Christians are not part of the conflict in Iraq nor do they have foreign alliances," Ephrem said in an interview with LBCI's Nharkom Said TV Show on Thursday.  

"Unconfirmed reports say a huge number of Christians in Iraq's Mosul converted to Islam to save their lives.        

Others fled the northern city of Mosul in the wake of threats from Islamic State militants who took the city in a blitz offensive last month.            

"What is keeping Iraqi Christians from defending themselves with weapons?" Ephrem asked, adding that more than 150 thousand Christians are threatened with displacement in the Nineveh province.