Christian properties have been seized in Baghdad by Iranian-backed militia, according to members of the Iraqi parliament.
The militia targeted houses, businesses and cultural sites including churches, forcing individuals to leave their homes and forfeit their possessions, AINA reports. Christian political and community leaders have condemned the attacks, with the Chaldean Patrick of Iraq saying they were a form of ethnic cleansing aiming to rid Baghdad of Christians.
"Their claim is that the property of a non-Christian is halal, meaning it can be seized," Chaldean Patriarch Louis Saco said in an interview with Al Hayat.
"We are begging, once again, appealing to the conscience of government officials and authorities from Sunni and Shiite states in order to do something meaningful to safeguard the life and dignity and property of all Iraqis, because they are human," Saco said.
Dr Walid Phares, an advisor to members of the US Congress, accused the US government of effectively backing and funding the cleansing of Christian minorities in Iraq through partnering with Iran.
He told The Foreign Desk that releasing funds to the Iranian regime had allowed them to back these militia targeting Christians in Iraq.
The Middle Eastern country is considered to be one of the oldest homes to Christianity with communities concentrated in Baghdad, Erbil, Basra and many other towns including Mosul until the rise of ISIS forced many to either leave or be killed.
According to Saco, there are now no Christians left in Mosul for the first time in Iraq's history.
