CRI听力:UN Announces Highest Level of Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq

The United Nations has announced its highest level of emergency for the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

It comes after tens of thousands of the members of the Yazidi sect fled the so-called Islamic State's advance to take refuge in the remote Sinjar mountain range.

Stephane Dujarric is a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"The humanitarian situation of the civilian population on Sinjar is alarming, due to the narrow corridors for transporting essential aid such as medicines, food and water. The people stranded on Sinjar Mountain have also to face soaring temperatures, which are reaching up to 111 degrees Fahrenheit."

Both the Iraqi and US militaries have been dropping in food and water supplies.

Kurds from neighboring Syria have managed to create an open corridor to the mountain, allowing some 45-thousand to escape.

However, the fate of those who are left behind remains unclear.

The US says it is unlikely to launch a mission to evacuate the civilians trapped on the mountain.

It says the decision has been made after a special forces team flew in and found fewer people remaining than expected.

The UN estimates some 15 hundred women and girls may have been kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery.