Czech Republic grants asylum to Assyrians from Mosul
According to the Associated Press, the first group of these Assyrians, numbering 153, arrived in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, on Sunday morning, January 24.
The Assyrians of Mosul were forced to leave their homes by the ISIS group because of their Christian faith.
These Assyrians were transferred from Prague Airport to a hotel near the city, where they are scheduled to stay for two months.
The Czech government and human rights and religious non-profit organizations paid for the relocation and resettlement of these refugees, who are allowed to remain in the Czech Republic after the end of the Iraq crisis.
The Czech Republic is one of the countries that opposes the European Union's refugee admission plan and has made accepting refugees conditional on voluntary assistance from non-governmental organizations.
In 2014, ISIS militants captured the city of Mosul and forced the Assyrians, who are the original inhabitants of the city, to either convert to Islam, pay a tax, or fight them.
ISIS identified the homes of these Christians and wrote the letter "N" on their doors. A worldwide campaign called "N" Campaign was formed in support of these Assyrians.
Since the refugee crisis began in 2015, more than one million people have arrived in Europe from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Germany has received the largest number of these refugees.
