Lack of security measures is the reason behind the killing of a Christian family in al-Mashtal district of the new Baghdad area, said Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq and the world Mar Luis Rafael Sacco.
“With great sadness and sorrow, we receive painful news about the
assassination of people to take their money, or for the purpose of
taking revenge,” said Patriarch Sacco, adding that a man and his wife,
both doctors, and mother, were killed in “cold blood”.
The Patriarch considered the killing an evidence of a flawed security system.
He called on the government “to take all necessary measures to
protect the citizens and their property, to prosecute the perpetrators
and bring them to justice and punish them harshly to reassure citizens.”
Patriarch Sacco called upon religious, educational and media bodies to promote a culture of peace and coexistence.
Iraqi Ministry of the Interior did not issue any clarification on the
incident, but security sources said on Saturday, that a doctor and two
members of his family were stabbed with knives, after gunmen stormed
into his house. The attackers also stole some money and expensive items
from the house.
The family targeted consists of Christian doctor, Hisham Shafiq
al-Maskuni, 61, a native of Baghdad, his wife Shaza Malik, and mother
Khairiya Dawood, who were stabbed to death on Thursday evening in
Baghdad’s eastern neighbourhood of al-Mashtal.
For his part, head of al-Warka parliamentary bloc Joseph Sylawa,
denounced the security authorities’ silence regarding the horrific
murder of the family.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sylawa indicated: “I do not have
detailed information about the incident so far,” adding that it is
likely that the incident was done for criminal purposes, but he didn’t
rule out that the purpose could be done to scare the Christian entity of
the Iraqi society forcing them to leave the city.
“I am surprised by the silence of the Interior Ministry on the
subject, and not providing any clarification,” pointed out Sylawa.
The Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights denounced the crime and called
on the Iraqi government to “immediately investigate the incident and
identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice quickly.”
The Monitor issued a statement published by Rudaw news agency,calling
on the Iraqi government to protect its citizens and put an end to this
kind of crime against unarmed Christian citizens.
Since 2003, thousands of Christian families had left Baghdad to
Kurdistan or European countries due to increasing rate of violence.