ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday ordered the recruitment of more Christians into Nineveh’s local police force, building on efforts over the past two years to integrate Christian recruits into the security apparatus. “This decision reflects the government’s commitment to strengthening the relationship between local communities and security institutions while preserving the Christian presence in Mesopotamia as an essential part of Iraq’s history and diversity,” read a statement from Sudani’s office. The move follows the recruitment of Christian recruits over the past two years into various training institutions, including into police forces. When the Islamic State (ISIS) took control of the Christian-majority Nineveh Plains in 2014 and declared Mosul as the capital of its newly announced so-called caliphate. Hundreds of Christian families were displaced to the Kurdistan Region at once, seeing it as a safe haven that would protect them from the reign of terror that ISIS brought upon, particularly towards religious minorities. The statement from Sudani’s office highlighted that the inclusion of Christian citizens in the security forces aims to foster national unity and ensure fair representation in maintaining security. Iraq’s Christian community has been devastated in the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian warfare prompted followers of Iraq’s multiple Christian denominations to flee, and attacks by ISIS in 2014 hit minority communities especially hard. Fewer than 300,000 Christians remain in Iraq, according to data obtained by Rudaw English from Erbil's Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda in 2022.
