Bassil: Displacement of Christians from Iraq’s Mosul threatens their presence in Lebanon

Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil confirmed Friday that 19 Lebanese nationals were on board the Air Algerie plane that crashed in Mali on Thursday, noting that the French authorities expressed their willingness to offer help in the recovery of the victims’ bodies.

An Air Algerie flight crashed over the West African state of Mali with 118 people on board including at least 19 Lebanese. Aviation officials lost contact with Flight AH5017 en route from Burkina Faso to Algeria early on Thursday after a request by the pilot to change course due to bad weather.

Officials said on Friday that poor weather was the most likely cause of the crash.

On another note, Bassil pointed out that the Lebanese government took the initiative for the first time in history to call on the International Criminal Court to intervene and hold Israel accountable for the crimes it has been committing.

During a press conference, the minister said that Lebanon is directly affected by the events taking place in Gaza and Iraq’s Mosul, stressing that any attempt to abolish the Palestinian entity will have severe repercussions on Lebanon.

Similarly, he stated that the displacement of the Christians in Mosul threatens their presence in Lebanon, calling for passing an international law to protect minorities.

The Islamic State, which last month declared a “caliphate” straddling large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, has threatened a Christian presence in the region spanning close to two millennia.

Over the weekend, hundreds of families fled Mosul, a once-cosmopolitan city that is the country’s second largest.

In Gaza, an Israeli offensive has so far claimed the lives of at least 800 Palestinians, while all efforts to reach an agreement over a ceasefire have been fruitless.