Over 70 percent of Nineveh Plain has been ruined by ISIS, Christian party leader reports
The leader of a Christian political party in Iraq claimed that over 70 percent of Nineveh Plain has been destroyed by the Islamic State.
Romeo Hakkari, the Secretary-General of the Assyrian Bet al-Nahrain Party, said that the ISIS severely destroyed the Nineveh Plain, and the extremist group burned what it could not ruin.
"In some parts, 80 to 90 percent had been destroyed while in Bartella and Hamdaniya towns, [IS] destroyed over 70 percent of the area," he told Kurdistan24.
He noted that international organizations will investigate the region to determine the extent of the damage since June 2014. Hakkari said that over 200,000 people fled to the Kurdistan Region after the terror group took over northern Iraq two years ago.
The party leader stated that the current financial crisis in Iraq and Kurdistan is making it difficult for the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to rebuild Nineveh Plain.
"After the liberation of Mosul, an international conference for rebuilding the area is necessary to push Baghdad, in particular, to help rebuild Nineveh Plain and Mosul," he stated.
Hakkari praised the KRG and the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani for their role in supporting Iraqi Christians. He explained that the Kurdistan region became a safe haven for many Christians who fled from ISIS.
The party leader also called for the creation of the Nineveh Province after Mosul is liberated from ISIS. He said that the residents of the area will later decide whether they want the province to be under the KRG or the federal government of Iraq.
The Iraqi army announced last month that it had taken full control of the Nineveh Plain.
Last week, members of the militia known as the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) adorned the streets of Hamadaniya with Christmas trees and crosses to prepare for holiday celebrations.
"A seven-meter-high Christmas tree and a ten-meter-high cross were set up in the center of the town," said NPU media spokesperson Jameel al-Jameel. He added that the campaign is aimed at restoring "joy" and "life" to the town.
In Bartella, Christians celebrated Christmas for the first time since 2013. However, the celebration is mixed with sadness over the desecration of their church. They erected a new cross to replace the one taken down by ISIS from the chapel of Mar Shimoni, and they placed a decorated plastic Christmas tree near the massive gate.
"We are sad to see what has been done to our holiest places by our own countrymen, but at the same time we are happy to celebrate the first Mass after two years," Bishop Mussa Shemani told Reuters.