Local politicians deny recent reports both in Iraq and in the United States alleging that Kurdish forces have been behind the attacks on Christians. Younadem Kana, a member of Iraq's parliament and head of its Christian Rafidain bloc, said media reports, including the London-based Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, "published lies under my name" accusing the Kurds of allowing violence to displace more Mosul Christians. "My statements were changed and fabrications were published under my name," said Kana, who also heads the Assyrian Democratic Movement. He said the accusation against Kurds, first publicized at a press conference Oct. 25 by Sunni parliamentarian Osama al-Nujaifi, was "baseless."
OMG ! What a great SHOCK for you ! Betrayed by his own leader !
Members of the police force and the Iraqi Army's 2nd Division--units that include Kurds and controlled security in areas where Christians were attacked and at least four houses destroyed by bombs--are under a Baghdad investigation. But Michael Youash, director of the Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project, based in Washington, D.C., called for both a U.N. investigation and a multinational force to protect Iraq's minorities. He accused the local governing council and its Kurdish leadership of seeking to weaken Mosul's Christians. Youash did not provide evidence of his claims and could not be reached by WORLD for further comment.
An AINA correspondant ?
