Thousands of families have been forced to flee from Iraq’s second city of Mosul after al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists gained control of the northern city.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took over the city of two million and much of the surrounding Nineveh region after four days of intense fighting, according to Reuters.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that as many as 500,000 people have fled the chaos on the ground, with reports of the black flag of ISIS flying above government buildings and loudspeaker announcements that the group had “liberated” the city.
IOM said in a report:
“A curfew has been in place since Thursday, 5th June and indiscriminate shelling is reportedly continuing. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are not permitted to use vehicles inside the city, which limits their access to basic services and is forcing them to flee on foot.”
ISIS was born in the early years of the Iraq War, but has recently been most notable in its involvement in the conflict in neighbouring Syria where the group has been waging a sectarian war and has become the strongest opposition fighting force in much of the north of the country.
The extremist Sunni group aims to establish a caliphate in the Sunni majority regions of Iraq and Syria, and has little sympathy towards those of other sects or religions that are caught in its conflict.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency, and the US has said that they would support a “strong, co-ordinated response to push back against this aggression”.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that he is “gravely concerned” at the situation, and has encouraged Maliki’s government and the Kurdish regional government to cooperate in restoring security to region.
