Safety concerns mount for Iraqi Christians

MOSUL, Iraq, March 3 (UPI) -- The Christian community in Iraq is at great risk as violence forces many members of the minority religious group to flee, the United Nations said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said thousands of Christians were displaced from Mosul in northern Iraq because of lingering violence.

Three Christian family members were killed last week in Mosul when militants stormed their house. Christians leaders complained they were made to feel unwelcome in an area they consider their historic homeland.

OCHA in a report on the situation in Mosul said it was concerned for the safety of the remaining Christian families in the area. The humanitarian agency said there were allegations many Christians were afraid to leave their homes.

Insurgent attacks on Christians in northern Iraq forced roughly half of the community to flee in 2008, according to U.N. estimates. The latest figures out of Mosul show roughly 200 Christians had fled the region since Saturday.

OCHA said many Christian students are not reporting for class and many workers are staying home.

The Kurdish government is at odds with its Arab counterparts in Ninawa province as ethnic tensions weigh on security concerns in Iraq.