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TENS OF THOUSANDS of people are reportedly fleeing in panic from advancing ISIS militants in north-western Iraq.
Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser Donatella Rovera, currently in northern Iraq, says taht while thousands have fled the Christian city of Qaraqosh in response to ISIS’s arrival overnight, others have been trapped in the town.
“The situation for Iraqis in the north-west of the country, especially those from the Yezidi and Christian minority communities, is becoming increasingly dire as both residents and many of those already displaced are now fleeing their homes and places of shelter,” Rovera said today.
The Amnesty adviser said thousands of Iraqis from minority religions and groups are fleeing in terror of advancing ISIS fighters:
I met a man yesterday in al-Qosh, a Christian town, who for weeks has been working hard to provide shelter and assistance to displaced people – Christians, Yezidis and other minorities who had fled their homes in the recent days and weeks amid ISIS assaults.Today he and his family have themselves become displaced. He broke down in tears as he told me that last night he and his family fled with only the clothes on their backs – with not even time to take their documents. ISIS is now in the town.
‘Urgent UNSC meeting’
France’s foreign minister has called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting over the crisis in Iraq.
“France is very deeply concerned by the latest advances of (IS militants) in the north of Iraq and the taking of Qaraqosh, the biggest Christian city in Iraq, as well as by the intolerable abuses that were committed,” Laurent Fabius said today in a statement.
“Given the seriousness of the situation – the first victims of which are civilians and religious minorities – France is requesting an urgent meeting of the Security Council so the international community can mobilise to counter the terrorist threat in Iraq and support and protect the population at risk.”
Turkish officials said today that up to 800 people from Iraq’s Yazidi community have fled across the border and into Turkey after escaping attack by jihadists from the IS group.
The Yazidi are a closed community that follows an ancient faith rooted in Zoroastrianism and are scorned by jihadists as “devil worshippers”, a term the Yazidi themselves angrily contest.
- Additional reporting by the AFP
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Give me sunshine any day no matter how cold it is. It’s possible to miss lots of things about Ireland except the weather.
@offside again: So true… the difference it makes to your mood. Personally, I prefer to be too cold than too hot but I understand why others hate it. As my used to say ‘it’s fresh Donna’. Not sure but I think the low temperature gets rid of some germs too.
Was just thinking I hadn’t seen any sun in over a week. Glad it’s not only me that noticed
I go to work in the dark and go home when its dark,so its nothing new for me in winter,,,
@Luke Littler: I’m on to you luke LITTER. You spend your days on here fishing for likes.
Poor Dublin. God love them
@Ed H: From all of us, thank you
@Ed H: We know we live rent free in all the rest of the countries heads…..people in rural Ireland can’t finish a sentence without mentioning Dublin.
@John Paul: which countries are those Ed?
@Fionn Bohane: John Paul probably won’t understand that.
@Fionn Bohane: counties…..spell check.
@Ed H: Better than living in the “Shticks”, where it’s a 30 minute journey to the nearest town to do the shopping from the one store that has a monopoly and charges Dublin prices, seen it in many a rural area
@Ed H: hope it doesn’t affect all the cash we send your way
@Ed H: Your power been reconnected yet? Lol.
Hate to live in Dublin …. Jaysus the hours of wasted life in traffic alone heartbreak
@D: I have no problem putting up with traffic to have everything on my doorstep….pro’s and con’s to both but I’d take urban vs rural any day.
@J B: You can always stay out of it!….typical culchie up here working but wouldn’t have a good word to say about it or its people.
@J B: Good,pity you wouldn’t take the rest of them with you.typical culchie.
@D: I make it to the office in 20 minutes, can also work from home, lunchtime has a whole host of options if I fancied going out for it, the rhetoric of gridlock is in your head
@John Paul: your type are the worst thing about Dublin. West Brits with a chip on their shoulder.
@D: traffic doesn’t affect the woke dublin elites like myself who cycle to work it’s great
That’s most weeks in Leitrim but it’s news when it happens in Dublin.
@Tony: plus the west.
@brendan C5: The weather in Mayo is class.
Nothing a good carbon tax won’t fix, I’m sure.
Caller ” It’s a diiiiis..’grace Joe! They should do something about it.
Joe : “They?!?”
Caller “The government Joe!”
Why am I still living on this fkn island
@Le Merchelant: As someone who has worked mostly outside of Ireland for the past 15 years I ask myself the same EVERY SINGLE DAY – Why…….????
Got that right! Month of Mordor…. gloomy kip.
Been living under cloud in Dublin for last two weeks but we have a weekend break in Galway this weekend just as the sun moves to Dublin, it’s me, isn’t it, it’s me, I know it’s me.
Typical.
Kip will always be kip
High flying aircraft busy spreading chemicals blocking out the sun US government now banned this activity Chemtrails over whole country ..people need to know about this
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