World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

Updated April 2008 

Profile

There is a community of Armenians, almost entirely in Baghdad - with some presence also around Mosul and Kirkuk in the north as well as a church in Basra (closed). They are Christians - both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Most are descended from refugees from Urumiya and eastern Anatolia who fled the 1915-18 Armenian genocide and settled in Iraq.

Armenians by and large seek to avoid notice, but they are also quite attached to their country and would consider themselves as part of Iraq. Ethnically different from others, they are culturally Iraqi.

Current issues

With the outbreak of civil war following the toppling of the Hussein regime, Armenians have faced the same targeting as other Christian groups. Many Armenians have left Iraq due to violence, harassment and economic decline. Many of them have sought refuge in Armenia or among the Armenian diaspora in other countries - either to settle down or wait until the situation in Iraq gets better.