2010 Baghdad church attack
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Baghdad church attack was an attack on the Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic cathedral
of Baghdad
, Iraq
, that took place during Sunday evening Mass
on October 31, 2010. The attack left at least 58 people dead, after more than 100 had been taken hostage. The al-Qaeda
-linked Sunni insurgent group
the Islamic State of Iraq
claimed responsibility for the attack; while Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Iraq's highest Catholic cleric condemned the attack, amongst others.
, elicited as much outrage as this attack. It also reported that Iraq is now "defined more by war, occupation and deprivation. Identities have hardened; diversity has faded." This was the deadliest attack on a Christian target since the war began. Despite a pre-war population of 5%, Christians made up 40% of Iraq's post-war refugees.
Additionally, a government had not been formed in the more than 6 months since the 2010 election, which has caused concern for stability in the political vacuum. Another reason for the perilous situation was seen as the American withdrawal following a Status of Forces Agreement
. As a consequence, a "religious fervor" was being directed at Iraqis of different faiths, mostly by Sunni forces. The US war in Afghanistan
was also seen as debilitating since the US would not be able to lend as much support.
The church is named in honour of Our Lady of Deliverance or Our Lady of Salvation (Sayidat al-Nejat). It was also one of six churches attacked in August 2004 (bombs exploded at five, including Our Lady of Deliverance -- at the sixth, the bomb was disarmed).
with a loud explosion and bursts of gunfire. The attackers then moved across the street to the Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church,
which is in the Karrada
neighbourhood. At the church, they took its construction and cleaning crew hostage. They also took more than 100 worshippers hostage.
One witness said that when attackers came into the church they closed the door and started to shoot at the lights, the fixtures, the crucifix
, the Madonna
and over the Sunday service worshippers. An eyewitness said the attackers shouted at them saying "All of you are infidels. We are here to avenge the burning of the Qur'an
s and the jailing of Muslim women in Egypt." Two hours after the raid, police arrived on the scene and cordoned off streets in the neighbourhood, after which a standoff ensued.
Abdullah Hermiz, the head of Christian Endowment, a state organisation that oversees Iraq's churches, said a part of the building was under construction and so Sunday Mass was being held in a different part of the church as was usual. He also said the worshippers were "about to leave and heard the shooting outside and because of the scary situation, some ran outside the church while others remained inside". The US military suspected the attackers were al-Qaeda operatives because of their "tactics, techniques and procedures".
An official from the church said "The men who carried out the attack were very organised – The way they entered...how well prepared and armed with machine guns, explosive belts, and everything they could need...How they quickly closed the doors and shut in the faithful. Then the security forces came."
said that of the 100 people in the church, 19 managed to escape before Iraqi Special Forces stormed the church at 21:00. He said the raid was a "robbery gone wrong. We've seen them resort to robbery to get financed. It has been very challenging for them to get outside financing, so they are resorting to small, petty crimes to try to finance themselves.
During the rescue the lights went out, when Iraqi forces entered the building. They then shouted to parishioners: "We will save you." Iraq's defense minister said a decision was made to carry out a "land offensive, and in addition an airdrop, because it was impossible to wait." The rescue was backed by American aerial support.
Both Iraqi officials and the US military praised the rescue.
During the 4-hour siege, at least 41 of the dead were hostages, including 2 priests, while the others included 12 policemen, 5 bystanders, and the gunmen. Another 78 people were wounded. Three priests, Fathers Saad Abdallah Tha'ir, Waseem Tabeeh and Raphael Qatin, were at first reported killed,
but Father Qatin, although seriously wounded, later recovered in a Baghdad hospital.
, Iraq's defence minister, said one of the attackers' phone calls were "fully intercepted" and he believed they were not Iraqis because they spoke classical Arabic
"perhaps in an attempt to conceal his identity". Al-Baghdadiya television said it received a phone call from one of the attackers and that he demanded the release of all al-Qaeda prisoners in Iraq and Egypt. They also alleged that female Muslims were being held against their will in Coptic monasteries in Egypt. al-Obeidi said other suspects had been arrested."
Hussain Nahidh, a police officer reported that the suicide vests brought in by the attackers were filled with ball bearings, designed to kill as many people as possible. Many people went to the hospitals "without legs and hands."
A security spokesman in Baghdad, Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, said the attackers were dressed like guards working for a private security firm and also had fake IDs. He said that an investigation was under way, and anyone held to be negligent or complicit would be "strictly accountable." One of the queries into the attack was "how such a large number of terrorists managed to reach the church in the heart of Baghdad." The commander of police in the district was also detained.
, Al-Qaida's the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack. The group's claim of responsibility also called the church "the dirty den of idolatry", while giving the "church of Egypt, the head of infidels, 48 hours to make clear the condition of our sisters in Islam detained in the monasteries and announce their release in the media". It also said "Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing," in regards to calls for the Egyptian Coptic Church to release two wives of priests that were detained after they allegedly converted to Islam. It added that the fuse of a campaign against Iraqi Christians
had been lit.
SITE also said Al Qaeda's statement read "Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing." The group said a deadline had apparently expired for Egypt's Coptic Church to free women "hostages", and that Christians were thus "legitimate targets. All Christian centers, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen wherever they can reach them."
said the attack was an "attempt to reignite sectarian strife in Iraq and to drive more Christians out of the country." The Kurdistan Regional Government
condemned the attack in a statement saying "We strongly condemn this terrorist attack on our Christian brethren in Baghdad. We send our condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded."
area called for a mass protest in response to the massacre.
Theprotests were dubbed "the black march" because the participant wore black as they marched through streets in protest of the massacre. Thousands of Assyrians, other Christians, Jews and Muslim joined the series of protests in more than 30 countries most notably Australia
, Canada
, Netherlands
and England
.
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, that took place during Sunday evening Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
on October 31, 2010. The attack left at least 58 people dead, after more than 100 had been taken hostage. The al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
-linked Sunni insurgent group
the Islamic State of Iraq
Islamic State of Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq , is an umbrella organization of a number Iraqi insurgency groups established on October 15 2006.The group is composed of and supported by a variety of insurgency groups, including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council, Al-Qaeda, Jeish al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba,...
claimed responsibility for the attack; while Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Iraq's highest Catholic cleric condemned the attack, amongst others.
Background
Prior to the occupation of Iraq, the country was described as a "mélange of beliefs, customs and traditions." After the war, however, sectarian strife took over, with many killings of Sunnis and Shias, as well as Christians, although none, according to The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, elicited as much outrage as this attack. It also reported that Iraq is now "defined more by war, occupation and deprivation. Identities have hardened; diversity has faded." This was the deadliest attack on a Christian target since the war began. Despite a pre-war population of 5%, Christians made up 40% of Iraq's post-war refugees.
Additionally, a government had not been formed in the more than 6 months since the 2010 election, which has caused concern for stability in the political vacuum. Another reason for the perilous situation was seen as the American withdrawal following a Status of Forces Agreement
Status of Forces Agreement
A status of forces agreement is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security arrangement...
. As a consequence, a "religious fervor" was being directed at Iraqis of different faiths, mostly by Sunni forces. The US war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
was also seen as debilitating since the US would not be able to lend as much support.
The church is named in honour of Our Lady of Deliverance or Our Lady of Salvation (Sayidat al-Nejat). It was also one of six churches attacked in August 2004 (bombs exploded at five, including Our Lady of Deliverance -- at the sixth, the bomb was disarmed).
Attacks
Between six and fifteen gunmen began the attack by killing 2 armed guards in front of the Iraq Stock ExchangeIraq Stock Exchange
The Iraq Stock Exchange , formally the Baghdad Stock Exchange, is a stock exchange in Baghdad, Iraq.The Iraq Stock Exchange was incorporated and began operations in June 2004. It operates under the oversight of the Iraq Securities Commission, an independent commission modeled after the U.S....
with a loud explosion and bursts of gunfire. The attackers then moved across the street to the Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church,
which is in the Karrada
Karrada
Karrada is a major affluent district of the city Baghdad, Iraq. It is of a mixed population but it is noted for having majority of Shia population. The presence of Christians are notable in the area...
neighbourhood. At the church, they took its construction and cleaning crew hostage. They also took more than 100 worshippers hostage.
One witness said that when attackers came into the church they closed the door and started to shoot at the lights, the fixtures, the crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
, the Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
and over the Sunday service worshippers. An eyewitness said the attackers shouted at them saying "All of you are infidels. We are here to avenge the burning of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
s and the jailing of Muslim women in Egypt." Two hours after the raid, police arrived on the scene and cordoned off streets in the neighbourhood, after which a standoff ensued.
Abdullah Hermiz, the head of Christian Endowment, a state organisation that oversees Iraq's churches, said a part of the building was under construction and so Sunday Mass was being held in a different part of the church as was usual. He also said the worshippers were "about to leave and heard the shooting outside and because of the scary situation, some ran outside the church while others remained inside". The US military suspected the attackers were al-Qaeda operatives because of their "tactics, techniques and procedures".
An official from the church said "The men who carried out the attack were very organised – The way they entered...how well prepared and armed with machine guns, explosive belts, and everything they could need...How they quickly closed the doors and shut in the faithful. Then the security forces came."
Rescue
Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Bloom of the US armyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
said that of the 100 people in the church, 19 managed to escape before Iraqi Special Forces stormed the church at 21:00. He said the raid was a "robbery gone wrong. We've seen them resort to robbery to get financed. It has been very challenging for them to get outside financing, so they are resorting to small, petty crimes to try to finance themselves.
During the rescue the lights went out, when Iraqi forces entered the building. They then shouted to parishioners: "We will save you." Iraq's defense minister said a decision was made to carry out a "land offensive, and in addition an airdrop, because it was impossible to wait." The rescue was backed by American aerial support.
Both Iraqi officials and the US military praised the rescue.
During the 4-hour siege, at least 41 of the dead were hostages, including 2 priests, while the others included 12 policemen, 5 bystanders, and the gunmen. Another 78 people were wounded. Three priests, Fathers Saad Abdallah Tha'ir, Waseem Tabeeh and Raphael Qatin, were at first reported killed,
but Father Qatin, although seriously wounded, later recovered in a Baghdad hospital.
Investigation
Abdul Qader al-ObeidiQadir Obeidi
Lt. Gen. Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jassim Obeidi al-Mifarji was the Defence Minister of Iraq in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from 2006 to 2010...
, Iraq's defence minister, said one of the attackers' phone calls were "fully intercepted" and he believed they were not Iraqis because they spoke classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
"perhaps in an attempt to conceal his identity". Al-Baghdadiya television said it received a phone call from one of the attackers and that he demanded the release of all al-Qaeda prisoners in Iraq and Egypt. They also alleged that female Muslims were being held against their will in Coptic monasteries in Egypt. al-Obeidi said other suspects had been arrested."
Hussain Nahidh, a police officer reported that the suicide vests brought in by the attackers were filled with ball bearings, designed to kill as many people as possible. Many people went to the hospitals "without legs and hands."
A security spokesman in Baghdad, Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, said the attackers were dressed like guards working for a private security firm and also had fake IDs. He said that an investigation was under way, and anyone held to be negligent or complicit would be "strictly accountable." One of the queries into the attack was "how such a large number of terrorists managed to reach the church in the heart of Baghdad." The commander of police in the district was also detained.
Responsibility
According to the SITE InstituteSITE Institute
The Search for International Terrorist Entities Intelligence Group is an organization that tracks the online activity of terrorist organizations. The SITE Institute was founded in 2002 by Rita Katz and Josh Devon, who had left the Investigative Project...
, Al-Qaida's the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack. The group's claim of responsibility also called the church "the dirty den of idolatry", while giving the "church of Egypt, the head of infidels, 48 hours to make clear the condition of our sisters in Islam detained in the monasteries and announce their release in the media". It also said "Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing," in regards to calls for the Egyptian Coptic Church to release two wives of priests that were detained after they allegedly converted to Islam. It added that the fuse of a campaign against Iraqi Christians
Christianity in Iraq
The Christians of Iraq form one of the oldest Christian communities of the Middle East. The vast majority are Aramaic speaking ethnic Assyrians with much smaller numbers of Armenians, Arabs, Turcoman and Kurds....
had been lit.
SITE also said Al Qaeda's statement read "Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing." The group said a deadline had apparently expired for Egypt's Coptic Church to free women "hostages", and that Christians were thus "legitimate targets. All Christian centers, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen wherever they can reach them."
International reactions
- Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
said the attack was an "attempt to reignite sectarian strife in Iraq and to drive more Christians out of the country." The Kurdistan Regional Government
Kurdistan Regional Government
The Kurdistan Regional Government , , is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurds-populated Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq...
condemned the attack in a statement saying "We strongly condemn this terrorist attack on our Christian brethren in Baghdad. We send our condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded."
-
- Iraq's top Catholic prelatePrelateA prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
, Cardinal Emmanuel III DellyEmmanuel III DellyMar Emmanuel III Delly is the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and Primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic sui juris Particular church of the Catholic Church and a Cardinal. He was born on October 6, 1927 in Tel Keppe and was ordained a priest on December 21, 1952. He was...
, encouraged an already dwindled Christian population of 1.5 million not to leave, while he also condemned the attack as "We have never seen anything like it, militants attacking God's house with worshippers." Monsignor Eyos Qasho, a church official said, "If the sons of this country cannot live in peace then the situation is clearly unacceptable. Had we been provided with adequate security, this would not have happened." Chaldean Bishop Shlimon Warduni said "This is tragic for Christians and for all of Iraq. If we had a government and laws and people all over the world to help us it would be much better." The church congregation held funerals for the dead two days later, while at the same time a string of bombings in Baghdad killed over 100 in mostly Shia areas. - Father Douglas Yousef al-Bazy, who worked with the priests killed in the attack said that, while he was also stopped at a roadblock as he sought to get to the church after hearing explosions, the attack was "really terrible. The people who did this want to kill the church – the priests who served them and the people and even the building. We lost our best friends there. When someone dies we say there is a reason, but actually when they are killed – when they kill young people, young priests they are trying to kill our future. Those who say we are safe, that we can live peacefully in Iraq, they are liars. But we will stay in this country because still there are Christian people here and we still have a mission here."
- NajafNajafNajaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
-based Grand Shiite Cleric AyatollahAyatollahAyatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Ali al-Sistani strongly condemned the attacks. He also further advised Iraqi security forces to take more responsibility for the protection of Iraqi citizens. During Friday prayers on the same week, all mosqueMosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s in KirkukKirkukKirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...
condemned the "barbaric attack," while the mayor and the sheikhSheikhNot to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
of the Arab, Kurd and Turkmen tribes also expressed condolences and solidarity with the Chaldean archbishop. Sunni and Shia imams also condemned the attack in solidarity with Archbishop Louis Sako. They called for the preservation of "the Iraqi mosaic" of various ethnic groups and religions, one imam also called for Muslims to protect Christians "and launched an appeal for all the Iraqis do not succumb to fear and do not leave their country." - The network that broadcast the attackers' message, Al-Baghdadia, was taken off the air after a government raid following the attack. A day after the attack France said it would accept 150 Iraqis, with priority given to the wounded in the attack. A diplomat said the wounded would be evacuated on an hospital plane and taken to various hospitals in France. The Egyptian Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim BrotherhoodThe Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
then called for churches to be protected. - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast offered condolences to the Iraqi people and government and said: "The incident was a measure for return of terrorism and violence to Iraq and affecting the political process of government formation." A few days later a meeting of the MajlisMajlis' , is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting", used in the context of "council", to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries...
also generally criticised "some regional and foreign" players for destabilising Iraq. - Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
condemned the "senseless violence, made more ferocious because it was directed against unarmed people gathered in the house of God, which is a house of love and reconciliation" and he called for renewed international efforts at brokering peace in the region. He also sent a telegram of condolence to Archbishop Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka of the Syro-Catholics: "Deeply shocked by the violent death of so many faithful and of Fathers Tha'ir Saad and Boutros Wasim, I desire, on this occasion of the Sacred Rite of the funerals, to be spiritually present...For many years, this beloved country has suffered unspeakable hardship and Christians have also become an object of heinous attacks with total lack of respect for life, the inviolable gift of God, desiring to undermine trust and civil coexistence. I renew my Appeal so that the sacrifice of these brothers and sisters of ours may be a seed of peace and true rebirth, and because many have reconciliation at heart, brotherly and supportive coexistence." - Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Moscow presents profound condolences over the death of innocent civilians and Iraqi policemen. We strongly condemn the crime of terrorists and the attacks on freedom and life of believers of any religion." - ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Athanasios Dawood, the leader of the Syriac Orthodox church in the United Kingdom, said all Christians should leave Iraq in the wake of the attack, "I say clearly and now -- the Christian people should leave their (sicSicSic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
) beloved land of our ancestors and escape the premeditated ethnic cleansing. This is better than having them killed one by one." - White House press secretary Robert GibbsRobert GibbsRobert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
said: "The United States strongly condemns this senseless act of hostage taking and violence by terrorists linked to al Qaeda in Iraq that occurred Sunday in Baghdad killing so many innocent Iraqis." U.S. Representatives Anna G. Eshoo and Frank Wolf, co-chairs of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, and seven other representatives, sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling for the Obama Administration to develop a comprehensive policy for the protection of indigenous religious communities in Iraq. They also offered condolences to the victims and their families. - Martin Manna, the executive director of the Michigan-based Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, responded to the attack saying: "Our community's just so frustrated more than anything else. Security is just terrible. The Iraqi government...can't protect their people."
- Iraq's top Catholic prelate
Black march protests
In November 2010 many Assyrian Americans in the ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area called for a mass protest in response to the massacre.
Theprotests were dubbed "the black march" because the participant wore black as they marched through streets in protest of the massacre. Thousands of Assyrians, other Christians, Jews and Muslim joined the series of protests in more than 30 countries most notably Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.