For the last weeks and days we have been urging the US Administration to draw a red line around the Christian-Yazidi areas particularly after mass killings. US assets are the only resource that can or could have stopped the Jihadi forces. By tonight, Caliphate forces are in control of main axes inside Nineveh, thrusting through the hoped red lines. In short the Jihadist have advanced inside the Christian-Yazidi enclave and are targeting Kurdish territory. If they are not stopped at this point, they will be putting pressure on the axis leading to Irbil, Kurdistan’s capital and site of international organizations and the main airport. According to the reports close to 75% of Nineveh’s Christian population and more than 90% of the Yazidis went into exodus towards Kurdistan’s highlands.
Inside Kurdistan a military mobilization is now in effect but the region is not equipped with air force. The southern flanks of the region seem to be collapsing and Peshmerga units are withdrawing towards the highlands. So far there are no indications that the US Administration is considering strikes to stop the advance of the terror forces. The last statements made by the White House and the US ambassador at the UN mentions humanitarian aid and a reliance on Maliki Government and Regional Kurdistan’s Government, both of which are barely able to defend their core regions, but not the precarious ethnic minorities.
(Map of offensive drawn by NGOs, may not be accurate but could give a sense to readers, of the long aim of the Caliphate forces)