Renas Lelikan, an Australian man of Kurdish origin, is pictured with children in the Makhmour refugee camp in northern Iraq. Lelikan is attempting to flee the camp, which is being targeted by ISIS militants.
Courtesy of Renas Lelikan
But Lelikan has been denied a passport by the Australian government after authorities ruled he posed a national security risk, in part owing to a previous conviction in France for terrorism.
Courtesy of Renas Lelikan
Pictured here speaking to local Kurdish media, Lelikan was sentenced to three years in French jail for participating in the PKK, a Kurdish militant group. But Lelikan denied the charges and fled France, claiming he is a journalist who spent years reporting on the armed movement.
Courtesy of Renas Lelikan
The Makhmour camp is United Nations-assisted, and has harbored thousands of Kurdish refugees who fled the war between Kurdish separatists and Turkish security forces in neighboring Turkey.
Courtesy of Renas Lelikan
ISIS militants captured Makhmour in 2014 before eventually being retaken by Kurdish fighters supported by the PKK and U.S. airstrikes. Today, the camp stands just a few kilometers away from ISIS front lines.
