The European Union has condemned the Islamic State's “atrocities and abuses” while welcoming member states’ decisions to supply arms to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.
Foreign ministers attending an emergency meeting in Brussels on Friday also promised to block the sale of oil from IS-controlled oilfields and establish a humanitarian “air bridge” in the region.
Condemning abuses by the militants, a statement said: "The EU remains seriously concerned about the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq, and condemns in the strongest terms the attacks perpetrated by [IS] and other associated armed groups."
"The EU also condemns the atrocities and abuses of basic human rights, in particular when committed against targeted religious minorities and most vulnerable groups."
Armed groups linked to IS have driven an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis from their homes and have particularly targeted Turkmen, Ezidis, Shiite Muslims and Christians.
The IS campaign has been accompanied by reports of soldiers, police and civilians being summarily executed and even women and children being buried alive.
The EU statement said the acts committed in Iraq and Syria “may constitute crimes against humanity and must be investigated swiftly so that the perpetrators are held accountable.”
The council also welcomed the response of Britain, France and the Netherlands to Kurdish calls for military supplies. France, along with the United States, is already providing military aid to the Kurdish peshmerga while Britain and the Netherlands are considering to do so.
The EU will assess how to prevent IS benefitting from oil sales and condemned those funding the insurgents in contravention of United Nations resolutions, the statement added.
Ministers noted the efforts to provide humanitarian aid through the establishment of a humanitarian air bridge to northern Iraq.
They said: "The EU underlines the need to take urgent action to facilitate… access to populations in need and welcomes the efforts made by the US and other partners."
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