Iraqi Christians begin to return to Mosul

Christians have begun to return home to the Iraqi city of Mosul as attacks against them over recent days have calmed.

A local migration official in Mosul, Jawdat Ismaeel, has said that the exodus of Christians from the city has stopped, according to AP.

Earlier in October numerous death threats and killings took place against Mosul's Christian community, which led to about half the city's Christians - 13,000 - fleeing the violence.

It is believed that Sunni insurgents were behind the violence in the hope of driving the Christians out of the region. However, now more than 200 people have returned to the city.

According to AP Ismaeel said, "Christian families have stopped leaving and started to come back to their houses in different neighbourhoods in Mosul."

The violence has been condemned by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It has even offered each family that returns 1 million Iraqi Dinars (approx. $850). In addition the migration department has granted Christian government workers and students a leave of absence from work and class until the end of October.