Washington (AINA) -- A letter calling attention to the plight of Iraq's Christian Assyrians has been sent to U.S. Secretary State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The letter calls attention to the flight of Assyrians from Iraq in the past 6 years; the Christian population has declined from 1.4 in 2003 to 500,000 at present.

The letter was sent by Senator Sam Brownback, Senator Roger Wicker, Senator Carl Levin, Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. and Senator Banjamin Cardin.

Quoting from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the letter states: "'While Christians and other minorities represented only approximately 3 percent of the pre-2003 Iraqi population, they constitute approximately 15 and 20 percent of the registered Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria, respectively, and Christians account for 35 and 64 percent, respectively, of all registered Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and Turkey.'"

The senators emphasize that the violence and intimidation of Iraq's Assyrians and other non-Muslim minorities is targeted and call for the administration to "...develop a comprehensive policy to address the situation of these defenseless minorities."

The full text of the letter is here.