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Iraq: Christian remembers brutal attack on Baghdad church

On October 31 2010, the church of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad was attacked by gunmen, who proceeded to take worshippers celebrating a Syriac Catholic mass hostage.

Security forces stormed the church in an attempt to free the hostages. 50 people were killed, with many more wounded, including Louis Climis, a member of MRG partner organisation, the Iraqi Minorities Council, and his son.

To commemorate the second anniversary of the massacre, MRG is publishing Louis' moving and harrowing firsthand account of the events on that fateful Sunday. Click on the 'download this article' links below to read his story (in French, with an additional summary in English as a download after the photo gallery) and view a photo essay depicting scenes from the church directly after the attack.

(The article originally appeared last year in Arabic, in the Iraqi magazine Journal of Christian Thought).

On 31 October 2012 at the exact time of the attack two years ago, Louis and other Syriac Catholics will remember their dead at a hall beside the church. The inauguration of the restored church will be on the 14 and 15 December 2012.

Read an MRG statement on the second anniversary of the attack.

TmoignagMassacredelglisedeNotreDamedeSalut31102010.docx

Gallery

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Bullet holes in the church door after the attack
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The church altar was destroyed during the attack
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Bloodstains and destruction in the church after the attack
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Father Waseem Sabeeh, one of the priests who was killed in the attack
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Father Thaer Abdal, one of the priests who was killed in the attack
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Louis Climis, Vice-Chairman, Iraqi Minorities Council
MRG-GAL-2637
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