17/08/2014 Reporters

Now on BBC News, it's time for Reporters.

Hello and welcome to this special edition of Reporters. I'm Tim

Wilcox. As the humanitarian crisis deepens and the militants in Iraqi

gather pace, we have reports across the region.

This week, stranded on Mount Sinjar. Paul Woods reports from the besieged

Iraqi mountain. The question remains, how are these people and a

million other displaced Iraqis going to get home when the Islamic state

controls so much of the country? `` Islamic State.

Aid dropped to the women and children trapped in the conflict.

The human tragedy of Barack's civil conflict. Caroline Wyatt reports on

the refugees who desperately need help. The real focus is on how to

look after the survivors and the sick and injured who have come down

from the mountains. Bridget Kendall assesses the diplomatic strategy

behind Britain and America's current intervention in Iraq.

We look at what's behind the group that is now the new face of global

jihad. For ISIS to control territory into different countries with a

large number of fighters requires a high degree of organisation and

sophistication. And the caliphate debate. We asked young British

Mawson is what an Islamic state means to them. `` Muslims. Any

Muslim who he is the caliphate has been established, they will flock to

that place. God forbid if ISIS is brought here, it will be very

problematic and I worry for that. The United Nations declared its

highest level of emergency in Iraq because of the humanitarian crisis

in the north. It warned thousands of men, women and children stranded on

a mountain besieged by militants without food and water were in

desperate need of help. Later, President Obama said that air

strikes had broken the siege of Mount Sinjar and conditions were not

as areas as previously thought. Paul Wood travelled to the mountain to

speak to the people still trying to reach safety.

This is the one road from Mount Sinjar not controlled by Islamic

State. This harsh and barren terrain the only way of escape for thousands

of Yazidis. A few are still making their way out on foot. This family

collapsed, exhausted after getting here this morning. Another family

told me they had hidden for days, silent and terrified, before

sneaking away past bodies in the streets. A few people remain

scattered across the mountain. They have cobbled together a camp with

supplies dropped by the RAF. It is brutally hot. They have next to

nothing. But they say they have no choice but to flee. One man tells me

the jihadis put a gun to his head and told him, convert or die. Like

everyone here, he says he will never abandon his faith. Sheltered

courtesy of the British taxpayer, they are profoundly grateful for the

aid they received, but they are also desperate for more military help.

They face genocide, they say. First, they came for the Christians, then

us, the Yazidis, he says. They are striking all of the minorities. If

the international community will not step in, all of us will be

destroyed. The only soldiers confronting the Islamic State in

this part of Iraq are the Kurds. The US and Britain are determined not to

send troops. But even with US air support, there is not much that

these lightly armed Kurds can do. They are stuck here, along with

those who fled. By one count, more than 100,000 terrified Yazidis fled

over this mountain, many of them at risk of dying from the heat or of

thirst. A humanitarian catastrophe has been averted. Most people have

moved on. There are just a few stragglers left behind. The question

remains ` how are these people and a million other displaced Iraqis going

to get home when the Islamic State controls so much of the country?

The refugee camp's overstretched. They squat by the side of the road

in despair. The Yazidis don't hold out much help either of a foreign

intervention to defeat the jihadis. After thousands of years in this

part of Iraq, these people are afraid they no longer have a place

here. Supplies of arms and aid to Iraq

have been stepped up in an international push to tackle IS

militant and help those who fled their advance. US cent in extra 130

military advisers to the region. France said it would arm Kurdish

fighters against the militants and Britain sent Chinook helicopter is

to help relief effort. We travelled to Mount Sinjar on one of the Iraqi

helicopters involved in dropping eight.

In a quiet corner of Iraqi Kurdistan, a couple of old Soviet

helicopters are waiting to be loaded. This is everything. ``

everything the Kurds have two help tens of thousands trapped in a

neighbouring mountain. This woman is a British curd and has only just

arrived today. We saw lots of displaced Yazidis. It was an

horrific scene to see. I can't imagine what is waiting there on the

mountains for us to see. After four hour was waiting for patrol, the

helicopter finally takes off to Sinjar mountains. Transporting aid

by road is a dangerous mission. This small helicopter is to `` is packed

with food, water and medicine. Islamic State militants control

swathes of land in this region. The crew frequently come under attack.

We were lucky this time. After 40 minutes in the air, we finally reach

them. In the past ten days, tens of thousands of the minority Yazidis

act are trapped on the mountain. `` set. When we tried to land, we were

overwhelmed by people trying to jump onboard. On this flight, about a

dozen made it out. The theory is, many might not survive. `` the fear

is. There is little water and food. These people take what they can.

They have lost many loved ones and hold on to those who remain.

Finally, a safe landing back at the base. Those who made it onto the

helicopter will now head to the relative safety of the refugee camp

in Kurdistan. But this handful were the lucky ones. Just a fraction of

the thousands still suffering fear and despair on the besieged

fountain. Many of the thousands of Yazidi who

fled Mount Sinjar have reached the relative safety of the Turkish

border. Kurdish officials say the situation there is now critical.

400,000 Iraqis have taken refuge in the province. Caroline Wyatt reports

from where people are in urgent need of tents, food and water.

Volunteer Kurdish medical teams have been risking their lives to reach

Mount Sinjar to treat the injured and sick. These are the images they

brought back. But over the past few days, the numbers still stranded

there have diminished. But many of the most vulnerable survivors are

still arriving in Iraqi Kurdistan in urgent need of treatment. In one day

alone, hospitals in Dahok treated up to 800 casualties. This man is 80.

In the exodus, even the old had to walk to survive. He told me he had

to go on foot down the mountain, for over 50 kilometres. His journey took

days. In Dohuk now, the real focus is on how to look after the

survivors, how to treat the sick and injured who have come down and how

to prevent any outbreak of disease, thanks to the conditions that many

refugees are now living in. The Yazidi families who made it to

safety remain in these abandoned buildings or in schools, in their

thousands. Maybe in a few days, we may face some endemic diseases, we

don't know. We may have an epidemic of cholera, polio or measles,

because the places where they live now, they are just public buildings.

Existing refugee camps are already full. Dohuk province is now home to

400,000 people fleeing Islamic State fighters, doubling the population

here. Support from outside is what they need here, and some of that was

visible last night in the form of another RAF air drop of aid to Mount

Sinjar, although it seems there will be no US rescue after American

special forces landed on the mountain to assess what needed to be

done. The bottom line is that the situation on the mountain has

greatly improved, and Americans should be proud of our efforts.

Because of the skill and professionalism of our military and

the generosity of our people, we broke the siege of Mount Sinjar. We

helped vulnerable people reach safety and we helped save many

innocent lives. Last night, these Chinooks arrived at Cyprus after

flying from the UK, waiting to play their part in bringing help to Iraq.

Three months ago, Iraq was essentially being left to itself.

Now, after the lightning land gripes by Islamic State, the West is being

drawn back into the region. When the US and Britain refused to go into

Syria for so long, why intervene in Iraq now? Bridget Kendall reports.

The British commitment to northern Iraq is steadily increasing. Tornado

jets took off today to provide surveillance for new aid deliveries.

Now the government has decided to deploy Chinook helicopters as well.

There is a balance to be struck between the risks of doing this

against the accuracy. We take that carefully into consideration when we

are planning these humanitarian missions. The US involvement is

growing as well. There has only been a handful of airstrikes to reduce

the threat of Islamic State militants. But there are hundreds of

American troops and trainers on the ground. When the US and Britain have

so long refused to intervene and Syria, why intervene in Iraq now?

The US and its allies have deep`seated interest in Iraq, due to

its profitable oil industry and for historical reasons as well. Two wars

fought there since 1990 and the US led occupation after the fall of

Saddam Hussein. If Iraq implodes, the West will share some of the

blame. The big issue here is that due to safeguarding investment,

there are also safeguarding the investments of other countries. That

is what is happening. They see Iraq as more valuable from an economic

standpoint, from a strategic standpoint and also valuable from a

security standpoint. But if the West wants its

intervention in Iraq to stay limited, what is the long`term

strategy? The short answer is to stave off the worst. An Islamic

State victory, turning Iraq into a haven of terrorism. Or internal

sectarian tensions tearing the country apart. The west's strategy

in this case is to buy time. They have to somehow preserve the

government in Baghdad, preserve a Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq to

hold as much of Iraq together as possible. If they do not do

something, Iraq will simply disappear.

It is not just the West's concerns over how to solve Iraq's crisis that

matter. A new central government in Baghdad strong enough to hold the

country together and counter the extremist threat would only work

with support from Iran as well. Which is why Tehran's backing today

for the new Prime Minister is so important. But it could be Iraq's

crisis is already out of control. The identity of the group formerly

known as ISIS that now calls itself Islamic State is not entirely clear,

that it has declared a caliphate along the Iraq and Syria border. Our

reporter has been investigating what we know about the shadowy group that

has become the face of global Jihad. The self`styled caliphate is

restoring the boundaries in the east. Islamic State now control

significant parts of Iraq and Syria, including cities, oil fields

and border crossings. At the centre of the group is this manner. `` man.

Islamic State fighters pledged allegiance to him directly. This is

exactly what you would expect from a cult of personality. There is a

never`ending praise for him. It is how much the Islamic

State now resembles a classic cult. With the declaration of a caliphate,

he is in many ways the new figurehead of global Jihad. Vice

magazine recently some celebrations at monks supporters, but the

declaration also brought them into conflict with other jihadis in the

sphere. That is notably Kolkata. `` Al`Qaeda. Although they were born at

the same place, it is cause problems. This man had a tense

relationship with Al`Qaeda. He was famed for beheading captives and

bombing indiscriminately. This was criticised by a kite.

`` Al`Qaeda. Baghdadi Prefers that approach. They consider a lot of his

tactics to be unproductive. They didn't stop him and he is now the

heir of that. It is a completely different approach to Al Qaeda in

terms of strategy and ideology. Vice magazine

also filmed them on patrol. They have been involved in the governing

of a functioning state, or even producing accounts. This provides a

very high degree of organisational sophistication. Their record`keeping

is part of that. Al`Qaeda kept records as well, but for ISIS to do

that, that suggests sophistication and that is impressive. The question

is whether the Islamic State can keep hold of their territory is

without alienating the population is under their control. They reignited

the debate over the role of an Islamic State. The Ottoman Empire

was the last official caliphate. Many feel it is about restoring

dignity that has since been lost. A report has been speaking to Muslims

from different sects. Everyone's lives here in Britain because they

are happy. Why would you want to live under a caliphate? Smoking,

drinking, mixing, it is not something that a practising Muslim

would want to live under. Any practising Muslim that he is that

this has been implemented, they would flock to that place. They want

to live under the law of their own God. I live very well in this

country. I have all the benefits. I have the NHS. I have schooling. I

can step out of my house without the threat of being killed. If you are

not happy with Britain offering you the things, and go to replace where

you think is Islam is. McCreesh Dyer `` go to a place. The shared

interests and live by similar principles, why should they not work

together and have a leader? What about thinking the laws of this

country are a objectionable and that ISIS is better? People think the

British government have put them in a position where they are fearful to

practise their religion. When the profit died, why is that something

that caused a division? `` prophet. We are looking for something when we

can all get together and unify. If something is flawed and caused that

division, how can we look to it now? There are so many more opinions. How

can we use it now? There is a lot of disagreement in many different

schools of thought. If people don't want to disobey the laws of the land

and kill and murder and blaspheme, that's the issue. What about the

murder of homosexuals? Everyone here would agree it is not a part of this

long. `` Islam. It wouldn't be part of that, but it is part of society

here. The whole purpose of a caliphate is to bring you closer to

God. You can only be united by love and peace. Fighting is not to bring

anyone together. The main problem is the separation of the state with a

system of government. It is normal. It happened over hundreds of years.

I think it is a very Orientalist idea. It is from the east and

disconnected to Islam and that makes it scary and is killing people. ``

connected. I am happy living here under British law. I think it ISIS

came here, it would be problematic and I worry. That is all from this

week on Reporters. From the team, by for now. `` bye.