Baghdad Bishop Sees Anarchy Ahead for Iraqi Christians

Berlin - DPA ++ Iraq is sliding into anarchy, with religious minorities especially at risk when the state loses its ability to function properly, the Catholic archbishop of Baghdad said in a German radio interview Wednesday.

Christians inhabited Iraq even before Islam, but today there are only an estimated 800,000 left, mainly grouped in the independent Church of the East and the Chaldean Church, which is affiliated with the Catholic Church.

"I worry that they want to systematically intimidate the Christians and drive them out of Iraq," said Jean Sleiman in an interview on the national public radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

Minorities are most affected when the Iraqi state has ceased to function, he said, describing years of attacks. Recently four Chaldean Christians were killed in a terrorist bombing outside a Baghdad church. Sleiman said it was vital to restore Iraqi culture and social cohesiveness.

It is estimated that only half the Christians who lived in Iraq before the troubles are still there. Since 2003, the other half have fled abroad, mainly to miserable refugee camps in Syria and Jordan. Germany has accepted 700 Iraqi refugees, with an emphasis on helping Christians.