Christians Flee Mosul After Isıl Ultimatum

Christian families who fled Mosul, after being warned to leave by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants, have taken refuge in the Peshmerga-controlled Al-Hamdaniya district, an Anadolu Agency correspondent has reported.

Families living in the city said they had received handouts from ISIL militants demanding they pledge allegiance to the rule of the self-proclaimed caliphate or leave the city before noon (09.00 GMT) on Saturday, the correspondent reported.

Up to 1,500 Iraqi Christians have left Mosul in the past two days, with some claiming militants had seized their houses and property and cut off electricity and water supplies.

Iraq has seen a marked escalation of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims since June, when a coalition of armed opposition groups led by ISIL took control of large swathes of the country's predominantly Sunni provinces.

The conflict between the army and the militants entered a new stage when insurgents captured the city of Mosul on 10 June and soon afterwards took control of a number of other key cities and towns including Tikrit, Tal Afar and Baiji.

http: //www.aa.com.tr/en - Musul

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