Iraqi Kurds flee ISIL assault in northern Iraq

A large number of a Kurdish minority group have been displaced and are at risk of extermination at the hands of the ISIL Takfiri terrorists operating inside Iraq, Press TV reports.

According to the UN, as many as 200,000 civilians, most of them from the Yezidi community, have fled their homes after the capture of the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar by the ISIL militants on Sunday.

The Yezidis who have escaped to the town of Sharya following the ISIL assault on their town in northern Iraq spoke to the Press TV correspondent about their ordeal.

“There were dead bodies lying on the ground everywhere. Men dressed in black broke into homes and slaughtered people in their houses. They are barbaric,” said a woman.

“My family is hiding out in Sinjar mountain. My father is 80 years old. They have no food, no water, nothing. What is the international community waiting for?” raged a crying man.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a Monday statement that although the exact number of displaced people on Sinjar mountain is unknown, reports indicate that some 35,000-50,000 people are displaced in nine locations and are said to be surrounded by the ISIL militants.

“There are reports, to be verified, of children already dying for lack of water and other assistance among those trapped,” the OCHA statement said.

The militants control the two roads down the Sinjar mountain and are attacking families moving along the roads, which lead to Sinjar town and the Syrian border crossing at Rabya, the OCHA added.

On August 3, the UN said a “humanitarian tragedy” was unfolding in Sinjar. The town had sheltered thousands of people displaced by the ISIL violence, which came to the region nearly two months ago.

The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL terrorists took control of Mosul, in a lightning advance on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad.