By BasNews
September 9, 2025
A torrent of reports from US agencies, research centers, and media outlets is shedding light on persistent and severe abuses perpetrated by the Babylon militia against the Christian community in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains.
The group, led by Rayan Chaldean, is accused of operating a mafia-like network that uses coercion, intimidation, and criminal activities to maintain control while silencing dissent.
The Chaldeans, one of Iraq’s indigenous Christian populations, have historically faced persecution but found refuge in the Kurdistan Region during times of crisis.
However, since 2014, when Rayan Chaldean established the Babylon militia under the guise of defending Christians, the group has allegedly turned against its own community.
Instead of protecting civilians, the militia integrated into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and has been widely condemned for abuses and its severed ties with the Chaldean Church.
In 2019, the United States placed Rayan Chaldean on its Magnitsky sanctions list, citing “blatant human rights violations,” including documented torture, property seizures, and hostility toward religious groups.
Human Rights Watch also linked the militia to the destruction of civilian property in Mosul during 2016 and 2017 operations.
A report from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy describes the Babylon militia’s “iron grip” over the Nineveh Plains, accusing it of infiltrating local police, covering up crimes, and engaging in theft, extortion, and illegal trade.
The group’s influence reportedly extends to manipulating elections in Christian-majority areas, with votes secured through fraud and coercion rather than genuine community support.
Despite Rayan’s claim to represent Christians, the militia has clashed with the Chaldean Church.
His disputes with Cardinal Louis Sako, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, culminated in a controversial decree by Iraqi President Latif Rashid to remove Sako from his post, a move widely criticized at home and abroad.
Local Christian leaders and activists have repeatedly called for urgent measures, including the removal of militias from security and political structures in the Nineveh Plains, independent oversight of disputed property cases, guarantees for the church’s freedom, accountability for militia crimes, and genuine reconstruction efforts in areas devastated by ISIS.
Observers warn that the continued dominance of the Babylon militia undermines both Christian representation in Iraq and broader stability in the region.
