Babylon Movement
Babylon Movement | |
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Headquarters | Iraq |
Military wing | Babylon Brigade |
Religion | Christian |
Council of Representatives | 2 / 329
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The Babylon Movement (Arabic: حركة بابليون)[citation needed] is an Chaldean Catholic political party situated in Iraq. Founded in 2014, it is the political wing of the Babylon Brigade, a nominally Christian militia that was formed as part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. Rayan al-Kildani, a Chaldean Catholic Assyrian with close ties to the Badr Organization,[1] heads both the party and militia. On July 18, 2019, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Rayan based on charges of corruption and human rights abuses.[2][3][4]
Babylon Brigade | |
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كتائب بابليون | |
![]() Chaldean flag is used by Babylon Brigade. | |
Leaders | Rayan al-Kildani |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Group(s) |
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Size | 1,000+[6] |
Part of | File:Hashd Al-Sha'abi flag.svg Popular Mobilization Forces |
Allies | |
Opponents | ![]() |
Battles and wars | Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) |
History
The Babylon Movement entered the Iraqi parliamentary election in 2014 and 2018 as a movement claiming to be a representative of Iraq’s Christian community. With a few thousand votes, Christians in Iraq considered this list as strange and intrusive and its sudden appearance without any history or previous achievements.[9][10]
Denial by the Chaldean Catholic Church
The Chaldean Catholic Church issued a statement confirming that it has nothing to do with the Babylon Brigades, nor its leader, Rayan Al-Kaldani, nor does it represent them, and that its official representatives are members of the Iraqi Parliament only.[11][12] It was also denied by Christian members of the Iraqi Parliament, including Imad Youkhana and Yonadam Kanna, where the representatives stated that the Babylon Brigades and their leader do not represent Christians, and the battalions led by him represent him personally, and he is far from Christianity, completely against it, and does not represent it.[13][14][15]
Terrorist list
On 18 July 2019, the leader of the Babylon Brigades militia, Rayan Al-Kaldani, was included on the list of terrorism, and his name was included in the list of sanctions for the US Treasury and the financial assets were frozen for committing grave human rights violations.[16][17][18]
References
- ^ "A Mostly Non-Christian Militia Won 2 Of Iraqi Christians' Parliamentary Seats". HuffPost. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 30 Aug 2019.
- ^ Wong, Edward (18 July 2019). "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iraqi Militia Leaders and Ex-Governors". New York Times. Retrieved 30 Aug 2019.
- ^ [1] U.S. Dept. of Treasury press release.
- ^ [2], alghadeer.
- ^ a b Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (October 31, 2017). "Hashd Brigade Numbers Index". Rubin Center. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ Kaplan, Michael (July 13, 2015). "In Iraq, Christian Militia Battles Islamic State Militants: 'ISIS Terrorists Are Our Enemy'". IB Times. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ "الهديل - الهديل- تعرّف على أبرز فصائل الحشد الشّعبي... هذا هو تعدادها وأبرز قادتها".
- ^ Bennett-Jones, Owen (April 11, 2016). "The Christian militia fighting IS". BBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190808111311/http://www.albadeeliraq.com:80/node/1236
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20181017065715/http://www.ishtartv.com:80/viewarticle,52359.html
- ^ بيان البطريركية الكلدانية. Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ قناة عشتار الفضائية. Template:وصلة مكسورة Archived 2016-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ مقابلة النائب يونادم مع موقع الحركة الديمقراطية الاشورية. Archived 2017-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ مقابلة النائب يونادم كنا على قناة الشرقية نيوز. Archived 2020-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ وكالة انباء براثا. Archived 2016-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wong, Edward (18 July 2019). "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iraqi Militia Leaders and Ex-Governors". New York Times. Retrieved 30 Aug 2019.
- ^ [3] U.S. Dept. of Treasury press release.
- ^ [4], alghadeer.