Shafaq News/ Christian politician, former MP Joseph Sleiwa, called on the international community to help establish self-rule in the Nineveh plain amid "systemic targeting of minorities".

When the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stormed northern Iraq and took over Mosul in the summer of 2014, it ran a parallel campaign of genocide against the minorities of the Nineveh Plains. For many of these groups, including Christians and Yezidis, this was the worst of a long list of genocides going back over a thousand years.

 As a result, calls for autonomy were renewed and strengthened. More Christian, Yezidi, Turkmen, and other Iraqi leaders have expressed support for creating a region exclusively for minorities. 

This could be a good path for preserving these endangered communities and could help better facilitate compensations for the loss of land, wealth, and belongings.

Sleiwa calls came during the Easter holidays; a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

"The governorate of Nineveh has been evacuated from the Christians for the first time in 2000 years. Only 75 families have remained. Some are promoting lies about 'coexistence' in Nineveh. Coexisting with whom?" Sleiwa said.

"Nineveh is empty from Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities. The Nineveh plain territories are controlled by armed factions that are not affiliated with the state," he said. 

The Christian former lawmaker called for establishing "self-rule" and "autonomy" to "protect the small Christian communities that have remained in Iraq." 

"Otherwise, the project of ISIS will be completed via evacuating Nineveh from the Christian community," he warned.