Iraqi Christians return to their homes abandoned by Islamic State

Breaking Headlines
2016-11-24 | 05:51
High views
Share
LBCI
Share
LBCI
Whatsapp
facebook
Twitter
Messenger
telegram
telegram
print
Iraqi Christians return to their homes abandoned by Islamic State
Whatsapp
facebook
Twitter
Messenger
telegram
telegram
print
3min
Iraqi Christians return to their homes abandoned by Islamic State
 

A damaged painting of Jesus Christ and a CD holding pictures from his daughter's wedding are pretty much all that's left for Iraqi Christian Said Shaba when he returned to his ransacked home in Bartella which he had to flee from Islamic State two and a half years ago.

 

The Sunni militants stole a huge safe containing his savings and set the two-storey house ablaze before Iraqi forces pushed them out a month ago from this northern Iraqi town as part of an offensive to retake nearby Mosul, the group's last stronghold in the country.

 

With the jihadists using suicide bombers to stop an army advance on Mosul located just 20km (14 miles) away, Shaba's hometown of Bartella remains a no-go zone for civilians.

 

Black army Humvees mounted with guns secure checkpoints throughout the small town.

 

But frustrated with being forced to live with his seven-strong family in a rented house in nearby Erbil, Shaba came to check on his house for the first time since fleeing Bartella in 2014 when Islamic State seized Mosul and much of Iraq's north.

 

When rumors of Islamic State advancing on Mosul in August 2014 spread, he drove his family one morning to Erbil, planning to come back on the same day to take cash and documents, but he never made it back as the jihadists were already in control by the afternoon.

 

Among the debris on the floor of the house, a painting of Jesus Christ survived though the militants tore our part of the face. His wife put the painting on a wall in the ransacked reception room, kissing it.

 

A CD containing pictures of his daughter's wedding also made it through the occupation of the militants who dumped plates and cooking pots in the kitchen while camping out in the house.

 
 
REUTERS

 

Breaking Headlines

Iraq

Islamic State

LBCI Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use cookies to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More