Men claiming to be part of a wedding party fired their automatic weapons into the air for 30 minutes outside St George’s Syrian Catholic Church in the town of Bartella.
Local authorities failed to respond to the illegal incident which happened on 1st December 2018.
Meanwhile, a similar shooting incident took place outside a Syriac Catholic church in nearby Qaraqosh one week later.
The perpetrators identified themselves as members of the Popular Mobilisation Units, an Iran-backed paramilitary group which played a major role in the liberation of the Nineveh Plains from Islamic State (IS) extremists.
They also belong to the Shabak, a Shi’a Muslim ethnic group in Iraq which has been accused of infringing onto Christian villages through unlawful land purchases.
#Iraq #Pray – Christians face threats and intimidation from armed groups. See: https://t.co/rmudk90vFB
— Middle East Concern (@MiddleEConcern) January 16, 2019
Middle East Concern (MEC), a Christian charity which promotes the freedoms of Christians throughout the region, said authorities had done nothing in response to the shootings.
A statement read: “To date, there have been no efforts to investigate these incidents, bring the perpetrators to justice or to protect the Christian community and church buildings in Bartella and Qaraqosh.
“Christians in Iraq strongly experience this as intimidation aimed at…
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