The situation facing Christians in Northern Iraq remains unstable and uncertain but some hopeful signs are emerging and the Trump administration’s aid to the region is “very encouraging,” Chaldean archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil has said.
In this Nov. 26 video interview with the Register, given on the sidelines of the 2nd International Conference on Christian Persecution in Budapest, Archbishop Warda said Erbil’s Catholic university is expanding, Catholic Relief Services has provided funding for 3,000 Christian families living in the city, and the Hungarian government has made a “big change” to parts of the Nineveh Plain.
But he said tension between the Iraqi government and Shia militias remains unresolved, and unrest in Baghdad is having an impact on the Nineveh Plain. “Everyone is cautious,” Archbishop Warda said. “It’s not an easy situation.”