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February 26, 2015

Politician calls for coalition airstrikes to help Syrian Christians

A displaced Syrian girl finds temporary shelter at a school in Damascus, Syria, Feb. 23. A prominent Syrian Christian political leader has called for U.S.-led coalition forces to use airstrikes to aid fellow Syrian Christian and Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State militants in northwest Syria following reports of flagrant abductions and church burnings.

AMMAN, Jordan - A prominent Syrian Christian political leader has called for U.S.-led coalition forces to use airstrikes to aid fellow Christian and Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State militants following reports of flagrant abductions and church burnings in northwest Syria.

Published in International
February 24, 2015

Up to 100 Christians abducted in Islamic State offensive in Syria

A view shows smoke rising Nov. 20 from a Kobani, Syria, neighborhood damaged by fighting between Islamic State militants and Kurdish forces.

DOHUK, Iraq - Dozens of Assyrian Christians were abducted by Islamic State forces during a new offensive against a string of villages in northeastern Syria, aid and civil rights organizations reported.

Published in International
February 12, 2015

Education a priority for church agencies aiding displaced Iraqis

Displaced Iraqi Yezidi children greet Catholic Relief Service workers and a delegation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led by Bishop Oscar Cantu during a visit to Shariah Collective, Iraq, Jan. 17.

SHARIAH COLLECTIVE, Iraq - Young children happily sing songs in Kurdish and Arabic, play interactive games, learn to count and how to read and write under a big colorful tent. Meanwhile, teens and pre-teens study more serious subjects.

Published in International
January 8, 2015

Pope meets leaders of Yezidi community facing Islamic State persecution

Yezidi demonstrators protest Islamic State militants in Hanover, Germany, Aug. 12. The Vatican called on Muslim leaders to condemn the "barbarity" and "unspeakable criminal acts" of Islamic State militants in Iraq, saying a failure to do so would jeopardize the future of interreligious dialogue.

VATICAN CITY - In his appeals for an end to the persecution of minorities in Syria and Iraq, Pope Francis often has mentioned both the Christians and the Yezidis attacked by Islamic State fighters.

Published in International
August 27, 2014

Syriac patriarch calls Islamic State actions 'attempted genocide'

A woman who fled the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar sits with a child inside a tent at a camp in Syria's northern town of Qamishli Aug. 17. Returning from a visit to the Kurdish region of Iraq, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan cal led the Islamic State invasion "pure and simple religious cleansing and attempted genocide."

BEIRUT - Returning from a visit to the Kurdish region of Iraq, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan called the Islamic State invasion "pure and simple religious cleansing and attempted genocide."

Published in International