Macron visits IS former stronghold in Iraq’s Mosul

He also visited a church and the site of a mosque IS destroyed in 2017 in a gesture towards all the communities in Iraq."We will bring back a (French) consulate and schools," he pledged, while criticising the pace of reconstruction in Mosul, where IS fought its last urban battle, as "too slow".Macron made the commitment for France to stay in Iraq during a regional summit in Baghdad largely devoted to the fight against terrorism and the impact of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan as the US withdraws.On Sunday he said France and Britain will urge the United Nations on Monday to work for the creation of a "safe zone" in Kabul to protect humanitarian operations in Afghanistan.His visit to Mosul, a melting pot of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious communities, symbolised France's support for Christians in the Middle East.Before the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a sizeable minority of 1.5 million Christians, but this has whittled down to 400,000 out of a total population of some 40 million after waves of emigration in the face of conflict and persecution."This message is civilisational but also geopolitical. There will be no balance in Iraq if there is no respect for these communities," the French president said ahead of his visit.IS blew up the famed 12th century building in June 2017 as Iraqi forces closed in on the jihadists in Mosul's Old City.The mosque and church are part of three reconstruction projects led by UNESCO and funded by the United Arab Emirates to the tune of $50 million.- Talks with Barzani -It was the first such visit for a French president, he said.Later on his second and final day in Iraq, he visited Arbil, capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, for talks with Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani.The French leader was also due to meet the family of a Peshmerga fighter killed by IS, to pay tribute to the Kurdish contribution to the fight against the jihadists. leb-gde/hkb/srm... Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au