Armenians in Iraq

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Armenians comprise a small ethnic minority in Iraq, with most living in the capital city of Baghdad.^[1] It is estimated that there are about 10,000 Armenians living in the entire country.^[2] Most of the Armenians originally came from Iran and first settled in the southern part of Iraq. While they have been moving into Iraq for several centuries, the largest movement of Armenian people came during the early twentieth century as they fled the persecution of the Armenian Genocide.

1 In Iraqi Culture
2 Deaths in War
3 Persecution
4 Notable Armenian-Iraqis
5 References

[edit] In Iraqi Culture

The two founding members of the Western-style pop group Unknown to No One, Art Haroutunian and Shant Garabedian, are of Armenian heritage. During the rule of Saddam Hussein the band could only have its music aired once they sang a song celebrating the dictator's birthday. Unknown to No One has been given a large amount of publicity in the post-Saddam era.^[3]

[edit] Deaths in War

During the Persian Gulf War, of the 1,500 Armenians living with the predominant Kurd population in the northern town of Zakho, three soldiers serving in Saddam Hussein's military were killed in coalition air strikes in Kuwait, Basra, and Mosul, respectively. A count of four Armenian babies were also among the several hundred reported dead in fighting near the Turkish border during the Gulf War.^[4] A further 130 from the town had died fighting in the Iraqi Army during the Iran-Iraq War.

[edit] Persecution

There has been concern that the decision of Armenia to send troops to support the U.S. War in Iraq will prompt attacks against Iraq's Armenian population^[5], and the Armenian winner of the Miss Iraq competition has gone into hiding out of fear of being targeted by Islamic militants.^[6]