France Offers Asylum to Iraqi Christians


France Offers Asylum to Iraqi Christians

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - France said it is ready to welcome Christians fleeing the area of Iraq controlled by the ISIL extremist fighters, saying it is "outraged" by their persecution.

The so called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seized large swaths of northern Iraq last month, prompting hundreds of Christian families in Mosul to flee a city which has hosted the faith since its earliest years.

"France is outraged by these abuses that it condemns with the utmost firmness," Laurent Fabius, France's foreign minister, and Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said in a joint statement.

"The ultimatum given to these communities in Mosul by the ISIL is the latest tragic example of the terrible threat that jihadist groups in Iraq, but also in Syria and elsewhere, pose to these populations that are historically an integral part of this region," they added, referring to the Islamic State's former name of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

"We are ready, if they wish, to facilitate their asylum on our soil."

"We are in constant contact with local and national authorities to ensure everything is done to protect them," both ministers said.

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