The jihadists of the Islamic State carry out attacks against "humans, monuments, civilization". But the offensive of the Iraqi army and local Islamist tribes against the Caliphate is causing, as a side effect, "the eradication of thousands of families fleeing towards the unknown". The Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Louis Raphael I, with an appeal sent to Agenzia Fides highlights the new, ignored humanitarian emergency in Iraqi.

The Primate of the Chaldean Church calls on the government of the Country and the international community to "act as soon as possible to protect innocent civilians and to offer them the necessary assistance in housing, food and medicines", and draws particular attention to the total black out regarding school and university education that is damaging the young generation in much of the country. The call ends with an invitation from the Patriarch to the national political institutions – government and parliament – so that they urgently and through the convening of extraordinary sessions face the new humanitarian emergency.

The Iraqi armed forces are continuing the massive offensive against the jihadists of the Islamic State (Is) to free the city of Tikrit, capital of the province of Salahudin. Thirty thousand soldiers are involved in the operation along with thousands of Shiite and Sunni militiamen. According to international agencies, ground forces entered the outskirts of the city, which is about 170 kilometers north of Baghdad, while the air force is bombing the positions of the Is with repeated air strikes. Much of the province of Salahudin has been under the control of the Is since last June.

 

Source: Fides News