Four collaborators of the non-governmental organization SOS Chrétiens d'Orient have been missing since Monday January 20 in Baghdad. The latter, three French and one Iraqi, were last seen in the center of the capital, "Around the French Embassy", the director general of the NGO, Benjamin Blanchard, said on Friday 24 January.
“They had to carry out administrative work in Baghdad. They were there to renew their visas and register the association with the Iraqi authorities. "he said during a press conference. "They have perfect knowledge of crises", he also said "They are experienced employees who have worked with us for years".
The authorities were "Warned Wednesday", according to the official, who did not disclose the identities of the four men. For now, "No ransom demand" has not been done. When contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the French foreign ministry made no comments, nor did the French embassy in Baghdad.
The Iraqi capital has for several months been plagued by protests against the government and Iran’s influence. More recently, many Iraqis are also protesting against the presence of American troops in the country, after the death of Iranian general Ghassem Soleimani killed in Badgad in early January in a drone attack.
Implementation of a "security plan"
The four members of the NGO "Had to go to an appointment that posed no particular problem", detailed Mr. Blanchard. They had left their hotel, an establishment, by car. "Who regularly receives international staff".
They also had to "Monitor the operations of the association, including the opening of our new school in Baghdad". The organization had acted "In perfect coordination with the consular authorities for the organization of this mission", assured the director.
"The French and Iraqi authorities are coordinating today to investigate and find their traces", he said, adding that he was "In close contact" with families. SOS Chrétiens d'Orient had set up, in 2015, a "Security plan" : "The procedures are updated and audited three times a year" and "The personnel undergo compulsory training".
The NGO presents itself as a humanitarian association helping "Eastern Christians to stay at home". It carried out its first mission to Syria in 2013, then to Iraq in April 2014, before opening the same year in Baghdad a permanent mission. Its officials, anchored very to the right, have sometimes been deemed complacent towards the Syrian regime Bashar Al-Assad.
Persecuted by Jihadists
During the three years of the self-proclaimed caliphate by the Islamic State (IS) organization, the religious minorities, in particular the Yazidis and the Chaldean and Syriac Christians of the plain of Nineveh – province of which Mosul is the chief town – were persecuted by the jihadists, leading to a mass exodus.
In Iraq, Christians, 1.5 million before 2003, were in summer 2019 "Well below 150,000", according to the Catholic organization Aid to the Church in Need (AED), an international foundation of pontifical law. In Syria, there are currently less than 500,000 against 1.5 million in 2011, according to the AED.
However, last November, the EDA indicated that the persecution of Christians had "Considerably reduced" in Syria and Iraq, notably due to "The military defeat of the Islamic State".
