Even trenches to defend Christians from attacks by extremists and terrorists; they are part of a sort of ‘security package’ decided by Iraqi authorities to defend the Christian minority and its places of worship, which have recently suffered heavy attacks in Baghdad and Mosul. Among the decisions taken, according to IRIN (a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs which reports the declarations of the person in charge of the provincial committee of security and defence, Abdul-Raheem al-Shimari), there is also the one of building trenches and moats around the farthest Christian villages, including the ones in the Nineveh Plain. The trenches will be half a metre wide, and will prevent cars carrying bombs to enter cities; moreover, thanks also to gates, either two or four, placed at the entrance of cities, it will also be impossible for terrorists to go in. At present, the trench and gate measure is limited to the cities of Tilkaif and Hamdaniya, which have already been the subjects of attacks in the past. “At the same time – added al-Shimari – the intelligence service to prevent attacks will be implemented”. The idea of building trenches and moats is not new; it dates back to 2006, when it was nevertheless abandoned in favour of military raids against potential attackers.
© SIR July 23 2009