UNHCR worried about Iraqi Christians

GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The U.N. refugee agency said it was outraged that some European countries were forcing Iraqi Christians to return home given the violence against the group.

Iraqi Christians have been the target of frequent insurgent attacks since at least 2008 when violence in the northern Kurdish provinces forced nearly half of the minority group out of the country.

Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, expressed frustration over a Swedish decision for forcibly repatriate five Iraqi Christians to Baghdad.

Christians interviewed by UNHCR staff in Baghdad said they were trying to get asylum in Europe but were denied because they weren't the specific target of attacks. Others said they were denied asylum because the security situation in Iraq was improving.

The al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq took responsibility for an October assault on a Christian church in Baghdad that left 58 people dead and 75 others wounded.

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

Fleming said Iraqi asylum seekers, especially those from the northern provinces, shouldn't be forced to return to Iraq.

"Our position reflects the volatile security situation and the still high level of violence, security incidents, and human rights violations taking place in parts of Iraq," she said in her statement.