Most Christians fled Iraq since 2003: Official

By Edris Ukodoju & Haman Baban

BAGHDAD

Sectarianism and terrorist attacks have forced the majority of Iraq’s Christians to leave the country since 2003, an Iraqi official said.

Khaled Albert, a senior official at the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs in Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government, said that around 1.8 million Christians had lived in Iraq during the era of former President Saddam Hussein.

“But changes in Iraq following the 2003 U.S. invasion, particularly sectarian conflicts, have forced 1.5 million Christians to immigrate from Iraq,” he told Anadolu Agency.

According to Albert, only 300,000 Christians now live in Iraq, most of whom are located in northern Iraq.

“Only 68 Christians, mostly elders, now live in Mosul,” he said.

Albert said that around 150,000 Christians have fled Mosul since Daesh took over the city in 2014.