Baghdad, August 5 (RHC)-- In northern Iraq, Kurdish security forces are battling Sunni militants near the site of the country’s largest dam.
Militants from the Islamic State attacked the town of Sinjar over the weekend, forcing up to 200,000 people to flee and stranding many in the mountains.
The United Nations Children’s Fund said 40 children from the Yazidi religious minority had died from violence, displacement or dehydration. Sinjar was previously a haven for civilians forced to flee other parts of Iraq. The Iraqi government has sent its air force to assist the Kurdish militias.