Vatican backs force to stop Isis 'genocide'
The Vatican's ambassador to the United Nations has endorsed military action against the Isis group in Iraq and Syria - an unusual move because the Vatican traditionally has opposed force in the region.
In an interview with the US Catholic website Crux, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said Isis fighters were committing atrocities on a huge scale and the world needed to intervene.
"We have to stop this kind of genocide," the Italian archbishop told Crux.
"Otherwise we'll be crying out in the future about why we didn't do something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen."
Tomasi said a coordinated and "well-thought-out coalition" was needed to do everything possible to achieve a political settlement without violence.
"But if that's not possible, then the use of force will be necessary," he added.
Pope Francis has denounced the "intolerable brutality" being inflicted on Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria by Isis group militants.
Last month, Isis kidnapped 220 Assyrians in the Tal Tamr area of Syria where the extremist Islamist group has seized control of ten Christian villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
And the pope expressed his dismay after the group's Libyan branch released a video showing the gruesome beheading of 21 mostly Egyptian Coptic Christians.
See Also
In an interview with the US Catholic website Crux, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said Isis fighters were committing atrocities on a huge scale and the world needed to intervene.
"We have to stop this kind of genocide," the Italian archbishop told Crux.
"Otherwise we'll be crying out in the future about why we didn't do something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen."
Tomasi said a coordinated and "well-thought-out coalition" was needed to do everything possible to achieve a political settlement without violence.
"But if that's not possible, then the use of force will be necessary," he added.
Pope Francis has denounced the "intolerable brutality" being inflicted on Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria by Isis group militants.
Last month, Isis kidnapped 220 Assyrians in the Tal Tamr area of Syria where the extremist Islamist group has seized control of ten Christian villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
And the pope expressed his dismay after the group's Libyan branch released a video showing the gruesome beheading of 21 mostly Egyptian Coptic Christians.
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.