IMAN Chairman condemns brutal murder of children and Christians in Iraq
Sunday, 10 August 2014
ISIS 'Systematically Beheading Children' in Iraq; They Are 'Killing Every Christian They See,' Says Chaldean Leader
CHRISTIAN POST
National spokesman for Iraqi Christians and Chaldean-American businessman Mark Arabo said the "evil" being carried out by ISIS militants in Iraq now includes shocking beheadings of children, and he praised President Barack Obama for authorizing an intervention in the crisis Thursday.
"They are systematically beheading children, and mothers and fathers. The world hasn't seen an evil like this for a generation. There's actually a park in Mosul that they've actually beheaded children and put their heads on a stick," Arabo told CNN's Jonathan Mann last week.
"And they have them in the park. This is crimes against humanity. The whole world should come together. This is much broader than a community or faith. This is crimes against humanity and they are doing the most horrendous, the most heartbreaking things you can think of," he explained.
Addressing the plight of Christians in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, since it was captured by the Islamic State militants, Arabo said 95 percent of them were forced to flee while some five percent of the Christian population converted to Islam.
He said even Christians who thought they could escape persecution by paying a fine discovered later that there was no honor among the militants.
"The letter that they sent out with those three items (convert, pay a fine or die), they did ask to pay a fine but actually after they pay a fine, they (ISIS militants) are actually taking over their wives and their daughters and making them into their wives. So really it's convert or die, face death by the sword," explained Arabo.
Responding to the news, IMAN Chairman, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"Words cannot express my horror at reading the most recent set of reports about the atrocities committed by Islamist extremists in Iraq.
It is clear that the violence and barbarity has reached new levels, these people have truly lost their humanity.
The international community must get a grip on this situation, action needs to be taken to stop these animals before more people succumb to their sword.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time, let us hope that an end to this bloodshed is swiftly forthcoming."
