From The Siasat Daily

Pope Francis Thursday expressed concern over the violence in northern Iraq, following the exodus of thousands of Christian families in the north of the country after their cities were taken by Sunni rebels of the Islamic State (IS).

The Vatican press office said the Pope had received with “concern” the “dramatic news coming from northern Iraq, where the most affected are Christian communities which must leave their villages because of the violence in the region”.

In a statement, Francis urged the international community to put an end to this “humanitarian crisis and protect those threatened by violence”.

Meanwhile, in Paris, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to condemn the “terrorist threat in Iraq”.

Thousands of Christians Thursday fled Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, the country’s largest Christian city, and other towns after IS militants seized several predominantly Christian areas in the Nineveh governorate.

The IS rebels took the cities of al-Hamdaniya and Telkif, north of Mosul, after defeating the Kurdish Peshmerga forces who protected the area.

The Islamic extremists also captured Bertala, al-Kuir and Ba’shiqah, inhabited both by Muslims and Christians, near Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Thousands of families have abandoned their homes and fled to neighbouring Kurdistan in search for a safe haven, security sources said.

The IS took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, last June, and since then it has advanced to other regions including Sinjar, making it closer to the last border crossing with Syria which it does not control.

The IS has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria to create an Islamic caliphate and has warned Christians they should convert to Islam or leave.

The rebel takeover of Sinjar three days ago led some 200,000 civilians to flee to the nearby mountains, mostly Kurds of the religious Yazidi community.

The refugees, who are trying to reach Kurdistan, urgently need water, food, shelter and medicines, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesman David Swanson told the Efe news agency.

According to OCHA, since January 2014, the surge in violence between government forces and armed groups has made 1.2 million people flee their homes in central and northern Iraq.

Christians, Shia Turkomans, the Shabak and people of the Yazidi sect are minorities who have lived side by side in Iraq, where they now suffer persecution by the jihadi Islamic State.

For more on this story go to: http://www.siasat.com/english/news/pope-concerned-christians-other-minorities-iraq

LATEST from BBC  12 August 2014 Last updated at 17:46 GMT

Thousands of Yazidis ‘still trapped’ on Iraq mountain

From BBC

Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped by militants on a mountain in northern Iraq and need “life-saving assistance”, the United Nations warns.

Members of the Yazidi sect fled there 10 days ago after fighters from Islamic State (IS) seized the town of Sinjar.

US air strikes continued on Tuesday, with a drone targeting an IS mortar near Kurdish troops, the Pentagon said.

On Monday, Iraq’s president asked MP Haider al-Abadi to form a new cabinet, snubbing the incumbent PM Nouri Maliki.

Mr Abadi’s appointment came after months of political infighting, which analysts say is partially to blame for Iraq’s inability to effectively fight the IS threat.

Politicians had been unable to form a government since April’s parliamentary elections, which were won by Prime Minister Maliki.

IS fighters have seized large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria in recent months, forcing tens of thousands of people from religious minorities to flee their homes.

‘A genocide’

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged countries to do more to help Iraqi civilians.

“The plight of Yazidis and others on Mount Sinjar is especially harrowing,” he said.

An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people remain trapped on Mount Sinjar without food, water or shelter said the UN’s Adrian Edwards in a statement.

There are now an estimated 1.2 million internally displaced Iraqis, he added.

Keiran Dwyer, who works for the UN’s office for humanitarian affairs in Irbil, told the BBC that some Yazidis had managed to escape from the north side of the mountain in the last 72 hours and cross the River Tigris into Syria, where they were receiving help.

A displaced Iraqi man from the Yazidi community carries his daughter as they cross the Iraqi-Syrian border (11/08/2014) Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the IS militants’ advance in northern Iraq

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Makhmur, about 280 kilometres (175 miles) north of the capital Baghdad Kurdish fighters are trying to hold off the militants

But a Yazidi relief worker, who was on board an Iraqi Air Force helicopter evacuating the trapped refugees, described the situation as “a genocide” and said that he had seen what looked like “hundreds” of dead bodies on the ground.

“You can imagine what it’s like when you land amongst 5,000 people and can only take 10 or 20, and everybody tries to get on the helicopter,” Mirza Dinnay told the BBC.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum (2nd L) shakes hands with deputy parliamentary speaker Haidar al-Abadi who has been tasked with forming a government ( image from Iraqi state TV) The president (2nd left) has asked Mr Abadi (right) to form a government

The US, Britain and France have been delivering humanitarian aid to the Yazidis.

Over the last five nights, US and UK air crews have air-dropped more than 310 bundles of food, water and medical supplies, and delivered almost 72,740 litres (16,000 gallons) of water and 75,000 meals, the US government says.

The US has also reportedly begun supplying weapons to the Kurdish forces, known as Peshmergas, who have been fighting IS in the north.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama described the nomination of Mr Abidi as “a promising step forward”.

But he also said the new leadership had a “difficult task to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively and taking steps to demonstrate its resolve”.

The US has been reluctant to mobilise support while the government was led by Mr Maliki, a Shia seen by many as fuelling ethnic and sectarian tensions that boosted support for the Sunni militants, the BBC’s Barbara Plett reports from Washington.

Armoured vehicles on Baghdad street – 11 August Security forces have been seen on Baghdad streets amid the political turmoil

Mr Maliki has condemned the move to replace him, saying it would lead the country into a political crisis.

Mr Maliki called the nomination a “violation of the constitution” and vowed to “fix the mistake”, but on Tuesday ordered security forces not to intervene in the political crisis.

In a statement published on his official website, Mr Maliki said security forces should instead focus on defending the country.

Mr Ban also urged Iraqi security forces not to intervene in the political dispute between Mr Maliki and the new nominee.

“It is imperative that the security forces refrain from intervening in the political process,” he said.

On Monday, IS militants seized the town of Jalawla, north-east of Baghdad, after weeks of clashes with Peshmergas.

The rebels already control a number of strategic northern places including Iraq’s largest dam, located near the city of Mosul.

For more on this story go to: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28756544