English Wall

Out of the tens of thousands of Christian families who lived in Mosul pre-2014, only 10 have so far returned, and it’s unlikely many more will go back.

MOSUL, Iraq — The bombed-out houses, wrecked cars and general devastation steadily increased as we neared the Old City in West Mosul where the most fierce fighting to liberate the city took place. 

Few have been back there since the Iraqi army retook the ancient city in July 2017 after nine months of gun battles and aerial bombardments. 

But on May 26, thanks to the generosity of a Syriac Catholic Iraqi army general improbably dressed in a suit and shades, we were driven throughout the Old City — once the jewel of Northern Iraq but now effectively flattened.

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