Some of the most vulnerable could not withstand the weekend offensive. Almost 70 children between the ages of one month and four died of thirst or hunger, said Dakheel.
The U.N. children's agency said families who fled the area are in immediate need of urgent assistance, including up to 25,000 children stranded in mountains.
"The reported deaths of 40 children from minority groups who were displaced from Sinjar city and district by armed violence are of extreme concern," UNICEF said in a statement.
"According to official reports received by UNICEF, these children from the Yazidi minority died as a direct consequence of violence, displacement and dehydration over the past two days."
Sinjar district's estimated population of 308,000 includes about 150,000 children, said UNICEF.
When the Islamic State swept into northern Iraq, the U.S.-trained army virtually crumbled. Thousands of soldiers fled.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/ ... UV20140805
