The first beleaguered northern Iraqi Christians arrived in France on Thursday, August 7, after being threatened by the Al Qaeda-inspired militant group that has wrested control of the region.

Eleven Iraqi Christians,from one family, arrived at Paris's main Charles de Gaulle Airport in the morning, freeing them from an ultimatum to either covert to Islam, pay a religious levy or even face death from fighters with the Islamic State (IS) -- formerly ISIS -- who has seized large swaths of northern Iraq.

Their arrival to France comes as thousands of Christians are reported to be fleeing Qaraqhosh --known as Iraq's Christian capital -- in Nineveh province after militants captured it overnight and started to dismantle crosses and burn religious manuscripts.

The seizure came as the IS fighters continued to push back Kurdish peshmerga troops, allowing them to overrun more northern towns and prompted French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to call for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

"France is very deeply concerned by the latest advances of (IS militants) in the north of Iraq and the taking of Qaraqosh, the biggest Christian city in Iraq, as well as by the intolerable abuses that were committed," Fabius said in a statement.

The French organisation "Fraternite en Irak" said on its Facebook page that a majority of residents in Nineveh escaped late into the night when the militants took over Qaraqhosh and neighbouring towns.

In France, half a dozen activists welcomed the new arrivals who flew in from Baghdad with a bevy of luggage in tow.

The French government said they would grant them asylum visas on July 28 after the capture of Mosul prompted hundreds of Christian families to flee.

This is the first family to arrive under the this agreement, according to the Association of Mutual Aid for Eastern Minorities (AEMO).

The eleven refugees are related to Archbishop Faraj Raho, leader of the Chaldean Catholic church in northern Iraq, who was kidnapped and murdered on March 13, 2008.

Before the US invasion in 2003, Iraq was home to more than a million Christians, including more than 600,000 in Baghdad.

However, the protracted violence has seen the population one of the world's most ancient Christian communities plummet significantly to no more than 400,000 Christians.

In a related development, it was the greatest honor of Le Figaro, by far the largest and oldest national French daily, that it became on Wednesday, August 6, the first major world newspaper to put on its front page and as its main headline the persecution of Christians in Iraq: “The Calvary of the Christians of Iraq”.

Also on its front page, the main editorial for Thursday, August 7, “Silence, on persécute!” (Silence, We are Persecuting!), a dire direct accusation of the accomplices of this genocide, those in silence throughout the West, beginning with the media, a public opinion always prone to demonstrations (but not this time!), and in particular the governments of nations whose populations are mostly Christian at least in name. Following is the text of the editorial written by ?tienne de Montety;

Silence, We are Persecuting !

The Islamic State has declared war on the Christians of Mosul. Summoned to leave the “Caliphate” or to subject themselves to the “Infidel” tax, destined to popular revenge by this “N” – as in “Nazarene” – inscribed on their homes, the disciples of Jesus Christ, transformed in second-class citizens, will have no other choice soon than to “convert” or to perish by the sword…

The intolerance is not hidden anymore. It is claimed by the chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who makes himself called Ibrahim. A sinister irony: Ibrahim is the Arabic name of Abraham, the father of believers, who came from Iraq, under whose name the Muslims and Christians of the region should meet together and live in peace.

The Christians of Iraq were 1 million before the American intervention. They are no more than 400,000 now. With each wave of vexations, violence, persecutions, they take the path of exodus. One of these exiles, Joseph Fadelle, told in a book, “The Price to Pay” (Le Prix à payer), the dreadful fate reserved to his co-religionists for many years. With the installation of the “Caliphate”, the threat is now clear: behold the enemy, Christianity!

Certainly, major voices rise up in indignation: for months Pope Francis has sounded the alarm and assured his brethren of his compassion. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has just condemned a “crime against humanity.” Foreign offices are worried, and raise their tone. Then what? European public opinion, so eager for mobilizations, petitions, demonstrations of every kind… And in this case, nothing! Silence, we are persecuting…

Will we remain deaf for much longer?

In order to move us, a massacre must take place outside of the summer break? After the Tour de France? Before the great vacation crowds? Faced with the terrifying procession of horrors, expulsions, murders in Mosul, will we only display our indifference? Christians or non-Christians, will we remain deaf for how long still before these terrible words of the Gospel resound throughout the world: “If they remain silent, the stones will cry out!“