By MaiLOnLineLydia Willgress
A family who fled from Iraq after Islamic State extremists seized their town have arrived in France.
The Mikho family were met at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine train station by a welcoming collective around 8pm on Saturday having made the gruelling journey from Qaraqosh.
The war-torn town, which is in the north of the Middle Eastern country, was captured by militants more than a year ago, forcing the Mikhos to get into cars and leave everything behind.
A series of poignant pictures released yesterday shows the family arriving in France as they reached the end of their desperate bid to get to safety.
One touching image shows the family laughing and joking as they were greeted by local Christians, who provided a buffet that included grapes, pizza and cold meats.
Wine and an orange-based soft drink were also available as the children and adults relaxed for the first time in months.
Other photographs show the younger members of the family with ID cards of lost friends round their necks as they think of those they left behind.
Meanwhile, thousands of refugees were today heading to Germany on 'special' trains after Angela Merkel said she would not stop anyone claiming asylum.
Many of them were met at Frankfurt and Munich train stations - having travelled from Budapest - by volunteers who provided warm clothes, bags of groceries and shoes.
Thousands of Iraqis have been forced to leave their homes after ISIS claimed large swathes of land.
In August, it was reported that up to 3,000 women and girls have been kidnapped by Islamic State jihadis in the north of the country in just a fortnight.
Hundreds of men who refuse to convert have also been shot dead, while others who militants have accused of being gay have been thrown off buildings and stoned to death.
Other horrific acts that have been filmed by ISIS in the country include four Iraqi men being chaining upside down and set on fire.
The Mikho family were met at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine train station by a welcoming collective around 8pm on Saturday having made the gruelling journey from Qaraqosh.
The war-torn town, which is in the north of the Middle Eastern country, was captured by militants more than a year ago, forcing the Mikhos to get into cars and leave everything behind.
A series of poignant pictures released yesterday shows the family arriving in France as they reached the end of their desperate bid to get to safety.
One touching image shows the family laughing and joking as they were greeted by local Christians, who provided a buffet that included grapes, pizza and cold meats.
Wine and an orange-based soft drink were also available as the children and adults relaxed for the first time in months.
Other photographs show the younger members of the family with ID cards of lost friends round their necks as they think of those they left behind.
Meanwhile, thousands of refugees were today heading to Germany on 'special' trains after Angela Merkel said she would not stop anyone claiming asylum.
Many of them were met at Frankfurt and Munich train stations - having travelled from Budapest - by volunteers who provided warm clothes, bags of groceries and shoes.
Thousands of Iraqis have been forced to leave their homes after ISIS claimed large swathes of land.
In August, it was reported that up to 3,000 women and girls have been kidnapped by Islamic State jihadis in the north of the country in just a fortnight.
Hundreds of men who refuse to convert have also been shot dead, while others who militants have accused of being gay have been thrown off buildings and stoned to death.
Other horrific acts that have been filmed by ISIS in the country include four Iraqi men being chaining upside down and set on fire.
