Christians flee jihadist ultimatum in Mosul

Hundreds of Christian families fled their homes in Mosul Saturday before a jihadist ultimatum threatening their community’s centuries-old presence in the northern Iraqi city expired.

An AFP correspondent in Mosul, the main Iraqi hub of the Islamic State (IS) group’s, formerly known as the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIS), proclaimed “caliphate”, said Christians squeezed into private cars and taxis to beat the noon deadline.

“Some families have had all their money and jewellery taken from them at an insurgent checkpoint as they fled the city,” said Abu Rayan, a Mosul Christian who had just driven out with his family.

The jihadists who have run the city since a sweeping military offensive that began six weeks ago have told the thousands of Christians in Mosul they could convert, pay a special tax or leave.

An earlier statement by Mosul’s new rulers had said there would be “nothing for them but the sword” if Christians did not abide by those conditions by Saturday.

While some families initially appeared prepared to pay the “jizya” Islamic tribute to stay in their homes, messages broadcast by mosques on Friday appeared to spark an exodus. “This is ethnic cleansing but nobody is speaking up,” Yonadam Kanna, Iraq’s most prominent Christian politician, said. “It is the first time in our history that something like this has happened. Muslims and Christians used to live together.”

The Islamic State “seems intent on wiping out all traces of minority groups from areas it now controls in Iraq,” Human Rights Watch also said in a statement.

Many of the displaced have sought the safety of the neighbouring Kurdistan region, where Iraq’s ailing President Jalal Talabani was expected to return Saturday from 18 months of medical treatment abroad.

Meanwhile, car bombs went off in four districts of Baghdad killing at least 24 people.