Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have reportedly fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul over the past week, following a wave of killings aimed against them.
Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has vowed to protect Christians in Mosul after 1,000 police were deployed in the wake of sectarian attacks in the northern city.
Local officials say a dozen Christians have been killed in the past two weeks, triggering hundreds of fearful families to take refuge in outlying villages.
Mosul's provincial governor said hundreds of Christian families had fled the city in the past week to seek refuge in outlying villages.
The provincial governor has accused extremist al-Qaeda elements of staging a campaign against Christians.
Sunni militants have been blamed for the murders of 12 Christians over the past fortnight.
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the violence.
Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at the Vatican, condemned the bloodshed.
"I urge the perpetrators of violence to renounce these acts and join with their brothers and sisters to work together in building a civilization of love," the Pope said, referring to the violence against Christians in both Iraq and India.
"I urge the perpetrators of violence to renounce these acts and join with their brothers and sisters to work together in building a civilization of love," the pontiff said.
Mosul, like other major Iraqi cities, has witnessed big security operations aimed at displacing insurgents and imposing law and order.
'Church checkpoints'
Our correspondent in Baghdad, Jim Muir, says the operations have improved security in cities like Baghdad and Basra, but the situation in Mosul - Iraq's third-largest city - seems to be worsening.
After talks with Christian Iraqi officials, the Shia prime minister said in a statement: "We will take immediate action to resolve the problems and difficulties faced by Christians in Mosul."
Killing campaign
An AFP correspondent said police had set up checkpoints at churches in Mosul's four largely Christian areas and were patrolling the streets on foot.
He says Mosul's Christians, whose ancestors have lived there for centuries, have never been spared from violence and extortion. Their archbishop was abducted and murdered in March.
A major operation by the security forces aimed at displacing insurgents has been under way for months in Mosul, which is considered by US and Iraqi commanders as the last urban stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
But now, they seem to be falling prey to a campaign of killings aimed specifically at them, our correspondent adds.
But the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says that, unlike similar campaigns in the Iraqi capital and Basra, the situation in Mosul seems to be getting worse.
The provincial governor says about 1,000 families have fled the city to hide in villages to the north and east of the city.
There were estimated to be around 800,000 Christians in Iraq in 2003, when coalition forces invaded, but at least one-third of the community is believed to have fled abroad.
The governor and church leaders have called on the Iraqi government, and US forces, to do more to bolster security in Mosul, and to help protect Christians.
There were estimated to be around 800,000 Christians in Iraq in 2003, when coalition forces invaded.
Over the years, there were waves of attacks on them, and many churches were bombed, both in Mosul and Baghdad. At least one-third of the community is believed to have fled abroad.
