Fleeing civilians in limbo as battle for Iraq town escalates

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Fleeing civilians in limbo as battle for Iraq town escalates

AFP

The conquest of Sinjar and several other towns threaten to further integrate the Iraqi and Syrian halves of the 'caliphate' IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Terrified civilians were scrambling for shelter Monday, August 4, as the battle for the northern Iraqi town they fled escalated, with fighters crossing from Syria to help fellow Kurdish forces battle jihadists.

The Islamic State (IS) raised its black flag in Sinjar on Sunday, August 3, after ousting the peshmerga troops of Iraq’s Kurdish government, forcing thousands of people from their homes.

The conquest of Sinjar and several other towns at the weekend threatened to further integrate the Iraqi and Syrian halves of the “caliphate” IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in June.

But the peshmerga announced they were mounting a counter-offensive and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday ordered the airforce to provide them support.

“The commander in chief of the armed forces has issued orders to the leadership of the air force and the army’s aviation units to provide air support to peshmerga forces,” army spokesman Qassem Atta said in a statement.

The peshmerga’s fellow Kurds in Syria have meanwhile sent their own fighters across the border to help, in an unprecedented move.

“The Democratic Union Party (PYD) is fighting in the Sinjar area and Rabia,” a senior army official told Agence France-Presse, stressing that “it was not coordinated with the Iraqi government.”

The Syria-based group posted pictures of what it said were its forces operating inside Iraq and said that PYD fighters had been battling IS militants north of Sinjar.

As Kurdish fighters converged on Sinjar, as well as the town of Zumar lost a day earlier, fleeing civilians risked being caught in the middle of the battle.

According to the UN, up to 200,000 people have fled the Sinjar area.

The world body’s top envoy in Iraq on Sunday called an unfolding “humanitarian tragedy” and voiced “grave concerns” over the fate of displaced families. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!