The head of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church said Friday there will be no Christmas Eve masses in Baghdad for security reasons as nearly three months of anti-government protests continue to rock the capital. "In light of the current sensitive security situation in Baghdad, the patriarchate has decided to cancel Christmas midnight masses at all Baghdad churches," Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako said in a statement.
But mass will take place on Christmas Day, the cardinal said, "in order to pray for a solution to the crisis... and in memory of the victims, both protesters and security forces".
Anti-government protests have rocked Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south of Iraq since October 1, with demonstrators calling for an overhaul of a regime they deem corrupt and inefficient.
About 460 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded - most of them protesters - since the demonstrations broke out nearly three months ago.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019