On Monday, the French government weighed in on the crisis gripping Iraq, where Muslim extremists have taken over several cities in the country's north since last month. Citing a recent ultimatum for Mosul's Christians to convert to Islam or face death, France said it would grant asylum to those affected by the new law, reports Deutsche Welle.
"France is outraged by these abuses that it condemns with the utmost firmness," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a joint statement on Monday.
The al Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), launched a lightning offensive in June, taking control of a number of Iraqi cities.
Earlier this month, it began imposing stricter laws on local populations, targeting Christians in Mosul in particular. Those who did not convert, it said, would have to pay a religious tax, leave the city or face death. Thousands of Christians fled the city as a result.
Read more of this report from Deutsche Welle.