CHRISTIAN NEWS: Iraqi Christian refugees flock to Germany

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March 19, 2009

iht via AP

BERLIN: More than 100 Iraqi Christians in search of a safer life will arrive Thursday in Hannover, a German official said.

The group of nearly 120 refugees will arrive a day before the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on a chartered plane from Syria. And many more are expected.

The resettlement is part of a program sponsored by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. It is expected to help 10,000 Iraqi Christians relocate to Germany, Sweden and elsewhere in Europe.

"This program gives people who cannot return to their homeland a chance at a better life," Interior Ministry spokesman Heinrich Huebner said Wednesday. "High priority refugees not only include religious minorities, but women and children and people with illnesses who cannot receive medical help, as well."

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