Via Daily Mail:
Fears are growing for thousands of Muslim Iraqis who have been surrounded by Islamic State militants in a chilling repeat of the siege of Mount Sinjar.
Iraq’s most influential cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, today expressed grave concern for 18,000 Shi’ites in the town of Amerli after their food, water and medical supplies were cut off.
The Shi’ite Turkmen community say they have been living under siege for the last two months after the Sunni jihadists captured the surrounding towns and villages.
Dr Ali Albayati, who lives in Amerli, said: ‘It is a humanitarian disaster – 20,000 people in Amerli are fighting off death.