RELIGION

Iraqi Christians protest in Beirut, demanding resettlement

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Iraqi Christian Samer Younan who lives in Lebanon holds a cross during a sit-in, in front of the United Nations Headquarters demanding speeding up their immigration cases in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. Thousands of Christians from Iraq and Syria have fled violence in their country and sought refuge in Lebanon, a religiously-mixed country. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

Iraqi Christians who live in Lebanon hold placards as they chant slogans during a sit-in, in front of the United Nations Headquarters demanding speeding up their immigration cases in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. Thousands of Christians from Iraq and Syria have fled violence in their country and sought refuge in Lebanon, a religiously-mixed country. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

Iraqi Christians who live in Lebanon hold placards during a sit-in, in front of the United Nations Headquarters demanding speeding up their immigration cases in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. Thousands of Christians from Iraq and Syria have fled violence in their country and sought refuge in Lebanon, a religiously-mixed country. The placard in Arabic reads "Oppressed." (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

Dozens of Iraqi Christians have marched outside the U.N. regional headquarters in Beirut, demanding the speeding up of their resettlement process.

Thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled the fighting in their country to seek refuge in religiously-mixed Lebanon. Many of them are waiting for resettlement in a third country.

Some 200 Iraqis took part in Monday's march. One banner said: "The future of our children is wasted."

There are no official statistics of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon but their number is believed to be in the tens of thousands. They include large numbers of Iraqi Christians who believe they will find safety among Lebanon's Christian communities.

U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, which seeks to restrict citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, includes Iraq.