Exodus of the Yazidis: Refugee crisis steps up with thousands fleeing into Syria as Obama arms Kurdish forces against ISIS



WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Senior U.S. officials say arms being sent directly to peshmerga forces in sign of growing concern about ISIS gains



Obama administration has previously insisted on only selling weapons to the Iraqi government in Baghdad



Comes as Kurdish forces seized back two towns from the Islamic insurgents aided in part by U.S. air strikes

Extremist group possesses state-of-the-art weaponry that outguns much of the ageing firepower of the Kurds

Political storm brews in Baghdad after President names deputy speaker to replace Nouri Al-Maliki as Prime Minister

British Foreign Secretary warned of a 'potential humanitarian disaster on a huge scale' in northern Iraq




Thousands of Iraqis from the minority Yazidi community are fleeing into Syria to escape Islamic militants who are threatening to slaughter other members of their sect trapped up a remote mountain.

Men, women and children have been forced from their homes in the town of Sinjar with what few belongings they could carry after it was overrun by fighters from the Islamic State (IS).

The exodus comes as the Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against the jihadists in the north of the country.



Kurdish peshmerga fighters appear to be the best chance of saving the Yazidis, including tens of thousands who are trapped up Sinjar mountain by a circling band of militants.



There, they face a bleak choice of descending at the risk of being slaughtered or hoping their attackers were defeated before they die of thirst or hunger.

Meanwhile, a political storm was brewing in Baghdad after Iraq's president named a new prime minister to replace Nouri al-Maliki and urged him to form a broad government that can stem communal bloodshed.

However, it was unclear whether al-Maliki would bow to U.S. and Iranian pressure to step aside.



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Torturous trek: Men, women and children from the Yazidi sect walk towards the Syrian border on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain to escape the Islamic State Fleeing genocide: Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi sect during their offensive in the north, according to Iraq's human rights minister The U.S. officials wouldn't say which U.S. agency is providing the arms to the Kurds or what weapons are being sent, but one said it isn't the Pentagon.

The CIA has historically done similar quiet arming operations. Previously, the U.S. had insisted on only selling arms to the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the Kurdish peshmerga fighters had been losing ground to Islamic State fighters in recent weeks. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Iraqi prime minister floods Baghdad with his loyalist... So wicked that even Al Qaeda disowned them: Letter found at... Share this article Share U.S. air strikes have been key to redressing the balance over weekend, allowing Kurdish forces to retake two towns yesterday in one of their first victories since the uprising began in June.

Military officials said American fighter aircraft struck and destroyed several vehicles that were part of an Islamic State group convoy moving to attack Kurdish forces defending the northeastern Iraqi city of Irbil. Kurdish authorities at the border believe some 45,000 Yazidis passed the river crossing in the past week, while thousands more are still stranded in the mountains

Refugees: Iraqis from the Yazidi community cross the border in Syria along the Feeshkhabour bridge over Tigris River as thousands flee Islamic militants Desperate: Yazidis ride in the trunk of a car as they make their way towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian town of Elierbeh