Iraq's Kurdistan regional government called Saturday on the international community to rescue displaced Christians and appealed to people in the region to help displaced families within Iraq.
"After control of Mosul city by armed terrorist groups, Christians were subjected to threats, even more mass murder and forced to leave the city, and go to Irbil and Dohuk cities without allowing them to take their needs or personal belongings," the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement.
Barzani added that "in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe the Kurdistan Regional Government exerted its efforts and capabilities to help those displaced people," calling on the people of Kurdistan in general to provide everything they can to aid those displaced Christian families." Barzani said that "the regional government has in full coordination with the UN High Commissioner Office been helping hundreds of thousands of refugees who have moved to the Kurdistan Region, but the number of refugees is increasing day after day." Barzani noted that the Iraqi government has cut off Kurdistan share of the general budget, and did not bear at the same time its responsibilities towards those displaced residents of the Kurdistan Region.
Barzani called on countries and charitable organizations and the international community in general to "rescue the refugees in the Kurdistan region and supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government in order to provide necessary assistance to affected families." Earlier, the New York Times said that Christians in the city of Mosul fled with their clothes only after The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have them gave them 24 hour ultimatum to convert to Islam or pay taxes, or be killed.