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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Obama authorises US air strikes in Iraq | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| US President Barack Obama says he has authorised targeted airstrikes against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, if they threaten US interests. | |
| However, he said US troops would be not be sent back to Iraq. | |
| He said that the US would act to prevent acts of genocide against minority groups. | |
| The US has already made humanitarian air drops to Iraqis under threat from Islamic State (IS) militants. | |
| IS has seized Qaraqosh, Iraq's biggest Christian town, prompting residents to flee. | |
| US supplies were dropped to members of the Yazidi minority outside Sinjar, a US official said. | |
| Many Yazidi have left their homes, some taking refuge in nearby mountains. | |
| 'Coming to help' | |
| "The US cannot and should not intervene every time there is a crisis in the world," said President Obama. | |
| "We can act, carefully and responsibly, to prevent a potential act of genocide," he went on. | |
| "Today America is coming to help," said President Obama. | |
| He said that US air strikes would target IS fighters, should they move towards Irbil. | |
| He added that the US could and should support moderate forces that can bring stability to Iraq. | |
| Early the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation. | |
| UN: 'Deeply appalled' | |
| "The members of the Security Council call on the international community to support the government and people of Iraq and to do all it can to help alleviate the suffering of the population affected by the current conflict in Iraq," said UK ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant. after Thursday evening's meeting. | "The members of the Security Council call on the international community to support the government and people of Iraq and to do all it can to help alleviate the suffering of the population affected by the current conflict in Iraq," said UK ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant. after Thursday evening's meeting. |
| UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply appalled". | |
| Meanwhile,, the US has warned that the situation for Iraq's minority groups threatens to become a "humanitarian catastrophe". | Meanwhile,, the US has warned that the situation for Iraq's minority groups threatens to become a "humanitarian catastrophe". |
| IS, a Sunni Muslim group formerly known as Isis, has been gaining ground in northern Iraq since it launched its onslaught in June. It also controls parts of Syria. | IS, a Sunni Muslim group formerly known as Isis, has been gaining ground in northern Iraq since it launched its onslaught in June. It also controls parts of Syria. |
| IS says it has created an Islamic state in the territory it controls. | IS says it has created an Islamic state in the territory it controls. |
| In other developments: | In other developments: |
| 'Catastrophe' | 'Catastrophe' |
| As many as 100,000 Christians are believed to have fled, and most of them are thought to have gone toward the autonomous Kurdistan Region. | As many as 100,000 Christians are believed to have fled, and most of them are thought to have gone toward the autonomous Kurdistan Region. |
| Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga, have been fighting the IS militants' advance in the area around Qaraqosh for weeks, but on Wednesday night it appears they abandoned their posts. | Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga, have been fighting the IS militants' advance in the area around Qaraqosh for weeks, but on Wednesday night it appears they abandoned their posts. |
| "It's a catastrophe, a tragic situation: tens of thousands of terrified people are being displaced as we speak," said Joseph Thomas, the Chaldean archbishop of the northern city of Kirkuk. | "It's a catastrophe, a tragic situation: tens of thousands of terrified people are being displaced as we speak," said Joseph Thomas, the Chaldean archbishop of the northern city of Kirkuk. |
| Eyewitnesses in Qaraqosh said IS militants were taking down crosses in churches and burning religious manuscripts. | Eyewitnesses in Qaraqosh said IS militants were taking down crosses in churches and burning religious manuscripts. |
| Pope Francis has made an impassioned appeal to the international community to do much more to address the crisis. | Pope Francis has made an impassioned appeal to the international community to do much more to address the crisis. |
| Last month, hundreds of Christian families fled nearby Mosul after the Islamist rebels gave them an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a special tax or be executed. | Last month, hundreds of Christian families fled nearby Mosul after the Islamist rebels gave them an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a special tax or be executed. |
| Iraq is home to one of the world's most ancient Christian communities, but numbers have dwindled amid growing sectarian violence since the US-led invasion in 2003. | Iraq is home to one of the world's most ancient Christian communities, but numbers have dwindled amid growing sectarian violence since the US-led invasion in 2003. |
| Plight of the Yazidis | Plight of the Yazidis |
| About 50,000 Yazidis are thought to have been trapped in the mountains after fleeing the town of Sinjar over the weekend - although the UN says some of them have now been rescued. | About 50,000 Yazidis are thought to have been trapped in the mountains after fleeing the town of Sinjar over the weekend - although the UN says some of them have now been rescued. |
| Almost 200,000 civilians have been displaced from Sinjar town, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned. | Almost 200,000 civilians have been displaced from Sinjar town, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned. |
| Those trapped on the mountain are facing dehydration, and 40 children are reported to have died already. | Those trapped on the mountain are facing dehydration, and 40 children are reported to have died already. |
| Iraq's minorities | Iraq's minorities |
| Christians | Christians |
| Yazidis | Yazidis |
| Iraq: The minorities of Nineveh | Iraq: The minorities of Nineveh |