Ninewa operations commander urges Christian families to return

Ninewa-Families NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: The commander of the Ninewa operations command on Monday called on Christian families who left Mosul to return to their homes, noting that all these regions have been secured. Speaking at a press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Rafeaa al-Eissawi, Lieutenant General Riyad Jalal said “350 Christian families have returned home to Mosul,” noting that all regions where Christians live, including churches, have been secured, through the deployment of security forces in Mosul. Statistics show that around 2,000 Christian families fled Mosul city to other places within Ninewa province or to other provinces, after the recent tangible escalation of violence against Christians there. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). There are different communities in Mosul like Christians, Shiites and Kurds along with a Sunni majority. The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named for this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble. The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, Yunus in Arabic, and Nahum. SH (S)/SR 1