Christian militia fighting the Islamic State in Iraq will soon get an improved equipment as the U.S Congress, and the Senate are set to authorize a new bill allotting money to support their cause.
The executive director of A Demand for Action, Steve Oshana said the move was a "huge step forward, and it is significant because Christian forces in Iraq and Syria have been assertive against IS for the past 18 months and one of them already has the backing of the US.
US lawmakers are determined to help the Christians in Iraq amid IS genocidal treatment towards them and other minorities. Since the civil war in the two countries, hundreds of Christians have been killed some are still in trauma from the persecution in refugee camps in neighbouring countries and Europe.
In a vote 393 to 0, the House of Representatives has declared that "the atrocities perpetrated by ISIL against Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide."
"It shows that the US has acknowledged the legitimacy of the Christian militia as a fighting force in Iraq and Syria," Oshana said.
The increasing efficiency of Christian forces in Iraq contradicts comments by Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad, who said in February last year that Christians there were "universally hopeless at fighting" and that they are no good at being soldiers. If going to join the new militia makes them feel good, great. But it will achieve absolutely nothing."
The IS, on the other hand, is continuously losing territories, and facing increasing discontentment in areas it still holds.
