By Adnkronos, January 5, 2011
Iraq's Kurdish president Jalal Talabani has earmarked funds to provide income to Christian families forced to flee Baghdad for the country's Kurdish north because of the threat of terrorism, according to London-based Arab-language daily al Sharq al-Awsat.
Every Christian refugee family will have the right to a 250-dollar monthly benefit payment, according to the daily. The paper cited a source from the autonomous Kurdistan regional government's religious affairs ministry.
"In this way we intend to help the Christian families meet their needs," said Khaled Jamel al-Bir, a functionary from the ministry.
There are approximately 500,000 Christians or less remaining in Iraq but a 31 October attack a church in Baghdad that killed around 60 people, and a spate of other attacks targeting the Christian community, have left its members in fear of their lives.
Attacks on Christians have also been carried out in Egypt where 23 people were killed on New Year's Eve and almost 80 injured during a bombing on a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria.
"In this way we intend to help the Christian families meet their needs," said Khaled Jamel al-Bir, a functionary from the ministry.
There are approximately 500,000 Christians or less remaining in Iraq but a 31 October attack a church in Baghdad that killed around 60 people, and a spate of other attacks targeting the Christian community, have left its members in fear of their lives.
Attacks on Christians have also been carried out in Egypt where 23 people were killed on New Year's Eve and almost 80 injured during a bombing on a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria.