A caliphate to unite all Muslim faithful has been established between Iraq and Syria. It is called the Islamic State, and its caliph is the most dangerous terrorist in the world.
The advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) seems to know no bounds. On 29 June a spokesman for the group announced the establishment of a caliphate the size of Hungary, renamed Islamic State. The caliphate would extend across the territories conquered so far in Syria and Iraq, from Aleppo to Mosul.
Its caliph — which in Arabic means the Prophet Mohammed's "successor" — is the leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In a message circulated online and attributed to him, he urged all believers to unite in order to break old borders and conquer new territories, reaching as far as Rome. The United States has declared al-Baghdadi the most dangerous terrorist in the world, with a bounty of $10 million on his capture.
Meanwhile, the number of Iraqi refugees seeking protection within the Kurdistan region grows day by day. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr), more than 300,000 people have fled Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. The total would be far higher — according to the International Organization for Migration (Oim), it exceeds 500,000. In the temporary refugee camp of Khazair alone there are said to be 1,500 people, but the number is constantly rising, making it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of families — very often with children — frightened by the scarcity of food.