- At least 350 Christian-owned properties on the Nineveh plains were occupied by Iraqi officials
- Iraq’s government blocked only 50 of them from being sold
- Christians had fled the Islamic State invasion in 2014
- Baghdad’s auxiliary bishop called the seizures unfair
Iraqi Christians who fled the Islamic State have returned to find their properties seized, Premier Christian News reported on November 27, 2018, in a report by Eno Adeogun, citing an investigation by the Iraqi television network al-Sumaria.
At least 350 Christian-owned properties on the Nineveh plains were occupied by Iraqi officials. The government blocked only 50 of them from being sold. Christians had fled the area when the Islamic State invaded in 2014.
“The numbers are unclear but this is real and serious. For some time, Christian houses and properties have been the object of seizures or illegal occupations and this is unfair,” said Shlemon Audish Warduni, auxiliary bishop of Baghdad. Archbishop Al-Shamani told Aid to the Church in Need: “An international peace-keeping force should be stationed on the Nineveh Plains. We want a guarantee that our freedom and our security will be upheld.”
For families who had already lost years to displacement, the seizures meant they had no home to return to.
Jamaican families who migrate often leave houses and land behind, sometimes for decades, and return to find them occupied or claimed. Documenting ownership, registering titles, appointing a trusted agent and checking on the property regularly are the best protections. Churches can also help by keeping records of members’ properties and supporting families who return to disputes.
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