In Photos: Displaced Iraqi Christians Are Scared to Go Back Home

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Afraid ISIS will rise again, thousands of displaced Iraqi Christians refuse to return to their homes.
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In Photos: Displaced Iraqi Christians Are Scared to Go Back Home Aurélie Marrier d’Unienville​

Qaraqosh was among dozens of towns in northern Iraq that ISIS overran in 2014, and was the largest predominantly Christian city in Iraq. Over the past three years, the Iraqi army has regrouped, with the help of Shiite militias, Kurdish forces and American airpower, driving the militants out of all but a few small pockets, such as central Mosul. But while predominantly Muslim towns have begun to rebuild, in Qaraqosh and other mostly Christian places, few residents have returned. Fearing more war and extremism, many worry they never will.

A picture of Jesus defaced by Islamic State militants lies on the floor of a church in Qaraqosh, the largest predominantly Christian city in Iraq. During its two-year occupation the group tried to erase all symbols of Christianity. Aurélie Marrier d’Unienville​