40,000 Iraqi Yazidis stranded over ISIL threats

The United Nations (UN) says that some 40,000 Iraqis from the minority Yazidi population have become stranded on a mountain in the country’s northwest amid violence by ISIL Takfiri militants.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis belonging to the Kurdish minority group have reportedly taken refuge in nine different locations on Mount Sinjar.

According to the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), those stranded face threats of execution by ISIL if they return to their homes and physical health risks if they remain on Mount Sinjar.

“The stresses are enormous; dehydration, fatigue, people sometimes having to walk for days. The impact on kids is very physical, let alone the psychological impact,” UNICEF spokeswoman Juliette Touma said.

Touma also voiced concern over low supplies for displaced Iraqis. “We are almost back to square zero in terms of the preparedness and the supplies. Enormous numbers of people have been crossing the border since June.”

The group says as many as 25,000 children may be stranded.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International’s Donatella Rovera has called on the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilians stranded on the mountain.

“The civilians trapped in the mountain area are not only at risk of being killed or abducted, they are also suffering from a lack of water, food, and medical care.”

According to local residents, at least 500 Yazidis, including 40 children, have been killed by ISIL militants since last week.

About 130,000 people, many from the Yazidi minority, have fled to Dahuk governorate in the autonomous Kurdistan region or Arbil.

Violence erupted in Iraq when Takfiri ISIL militants took control of Mosul on June 10, which was followed by the takeover of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.