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Babylon Movement

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Babylon Movement
LeaderRayan al-Kildani
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
HeadquartersIraq
Military wingBabylon Brigade
ReligionChristian
Parliament
4 / 329 (1%)

The Babylon Movement (Arabic: حركة بابليون)[citation needed] is a Chaldean Catholic political party situated in Iraq. Founded in 2014, it is the political wing of the Babylon Brigades, a nominally Christian militia that was formed as part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. Rayan al-Kildani, a Chaldean Catholic with close ties to the Badr Organization and IRGC,[1] heads both the party and militia.

Babylon Brigade
كتائب بابليون
LeadersRayan al-Kildani
Allegiance Iraq
Group(s)
  • 50th Brigade[2]
Size1,000+[3]
Part ofFile:Hashd Al-Sha'abi flag.svg Popular Mobilization Forces
Allies
Opponents Islamic State
Battles and warsWar in Iraq (2013–2017)

History

The Babylon Movement entered the Iraqi parliamentary elections 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.[6][7]

According to a report[8] from the Assyrian Policy Institute, the Babylon Movement is a fringe group with little ties to the Christian community in Iraq.[9] It is pro-Iran and is a proxy of the Shia Arab dominated Badr Organization.[10] Its affiliated militia, the Babylon Brigades (or Brigade 50), was founded by the Iranian-controlled Kata’ib al-Imam Ali.[11] While it is often presented as a Chaldean Catholic and Christian force, it is composed mainly of Shia Arab and Shabak soldiers.[12][13]

Relations with 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.[14][15] 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.[16][17][18]

Sanctions

On July 18, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the leader of the Babylon Brigades militia, Rayan Al-Kaldani, for committing grave human rights violations.[19][20][21][22]

References

  1. ^ "A Mostly Non-Christian Militia Won 2 Of Iraqi Christians' Parliamentary Seats". HuffPost. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 30 Aug 2019.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Kaplan, Michael (July 13, 2015). "In Iraq, Christian Militia Battles Islamic State Militants: 'ISIS Terrorists Are Our Enemy'". IB Times. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "الهديل - الهديل- تعرّف على أبرز فصائل الحشد الشّعبي... هذا هو تعدادها وأبرز قادتها".
  5. ^ Bennett-Jones, Owen (April 11, 2016). "The Christian militia fighting IS". BBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "الأحزاب الشيعية والكردية استولت على ثلثي مقاعد كوتا الأقليات العراقية | البديل العراقي". www.albadeeliraq.com:80. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ "النتائج الاولية المتوقعة لقوائم كوتا شعبنا الستة في انتخابات برلمان العراق". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17.
  8. ^ "Iraq's Stolen Election: How Assyrian Representation Became Assyrian Repression" (PDF).
  9. ^ Hanna, Reine; Barber, Matthew Travis (2017-01-01). "Erasing Assyrians: How the KRG Abuses Human Rights, Undermines Democracy, and Conquers Minority Homelands". Assyrian Confederation of Europe.
  10. ^ McKay, Hollie (2017-12-10). "Under threat? Iran's quiet infiltration over Iraqi Christian communities". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  11. ^ "Iranian Militias in Iraq's Parliament: Political Outcomes and U.S. Response". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  12. ^ "Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in the Nineveh Plains". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  13. ^ Kalian, Yousif (2017-12-21). "Iran's Inroads into Christian Iraq". The American Interest. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  14. ^ بيان البطريركية الكلدانية. Archived 9 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ قناة عشتار الفضائية. [dead link] Archived 25 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ مقابلة النائب يونادم مع موقع الحركة الديمقراطية الاشورية. Archived 4 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ مقابلة النائب يونادم كنا على قناة الشرقية نيوز. Archived 2020-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ وكالة انباء براثا. Archived 11 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Wong, Edward (18 July 2019). "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iraqi Militia Leaders and Ex-Governors". New York Times. Retrieved 30 Aug 2019.
  20. ^ [1] U.S. Dept. of Treasury press release.
  21. ^ [2] Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, alghadeer.
  22. ^ "U.S. imposes sanctions on four Iraqis over human rights and corruption". Reuters. July 18, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-18.
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