In
a televised late-night statement from the White House yesterday August 7th, US
president BarackObama said he has
authorized US airstrikes in Northern Iraq to defend hundreds of thousands of
non-Muslims being hunted down and slaughtered by ISIS, the al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State.
This is coming weeks after American military planes carried out airdrops of humanitarian
aid to thousands of Iraqi Yazidis surrounded by ISIS militants and desperately
in need of food and water.
ISIS has been ruthlessly hunting and
slaughtering members of the ancient Yazidi religion, a faith derived from
Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam, who ISIS have denounced as
devil-worshipers on account of their ancient set of beliefs. Pictured left is
an ISIS fighter posing next to the body of Yazidi. Pictured right Yazidi on
Mount Sinjar carry the bodies of children killed by ISIS.
Thousands
of Iraqi Christians have also fled their homes after the ISIS hoard seized
Qaraqush, Iraq's largest Christian town, and several others near Mosul
following the withdrawal of Kurdish peshmerga fighters.
Obama's dramatic call to arms came as the chaos engulfing Iraq escalated rapidly last night with a re-energised Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant storming towns in the north, executing villagers and chasing thousands from their homes into the desert.
Obama's dramatic call to arms came as the chaos engulfing Iraq escalated rapidly last night with a re-energised Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant storming towns in the north, executing villagers and chasing thousands from their homes into the desert.
Up to 50,000 terrified
Yazidis - half of them children - have sought refuge from the bloodshed in the
surrounding mountains. But there they face another killer: searing desert heat
and the constant threat of starvation.
Many have already died of hunger and thirst as they struggle to survive on just the food they could carry in temperatures exceeding 42C.
Photographs have emerged of Yazidi men carrying the bodies of dozens of young children apparently killed by ISIS militants, who in turn have posted pictures online of themselves posing next to dead Yazidi men.
The dead men's wives were reportedly kept as trophies to be gifted to unmarried jihadist fighters.
Many have already died of hunger and thirst as they struggle to survive on just the food they could carry in temperatures exceeding 42C.
Photographs have emerged of Yazidi men carrying the bodies of dozens of young children apparently killed by ISIS militants, who in turn have posted pictures online of themselves posing next to dead Yazidi men.
The dead men's wives were reportedly kept as trophies to be gifted to unmarried jihadist fighters.
Last night Obama said
American warplanes had already carried out airdrops of food and water to the
Iraqi Yazidis hiding in the mountains. He said the humanitarian airdrops
were made at the request of the Iraqi government. He also said it's time to do
more to help the thousands trapped on the mountain.
'Today America is coming to help,' he declared, adding:
'The United States cannot and should not intervene every time there’s a crisis
in the world. So let me be clear about why we must
act, and act now: when we face a situation like we do on that mountain -- with
innocent people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale, when we
have a mandate to help . . . and when we have the unique capabilities to help
avert a massacre, then I believe the United States of America cannot turn a
blind eye.'
The Pentagon later
revealed that the airdrops of food and water were performed by one C-17 and two
C-130 cargo aircraft that together delivered a total of 72 bundles of food and
water. They were escorted by two F/A-18 fighters from an undisclosed air base in
the region.
The planes delivered 5,300 gallons of fresh drinking water and 8,000 pre-packaged meals and were over the drop area for less than 15 minutes at a low altitude.
The UK also said they are looking at how to assist in Iraq as the world should never just watch and do nothing while a minority group is being slaughtered.
The planes delivered 5,300 gallons of fresh drinking water and 8,000 pre-packaged meals and were over the drop area for less than 15 minutes at a low altitude.
The UK also said they are looking at how to assist in Iraq as the world should never just watch and do nothing while a minority group is being slaughtered.
Source:
UK Daily
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