The News Minute | August 23, 2014 | 6:37pm IST

Baghdad : Fearing a possible massacre in northern Iraqi town of Amerli, under siege by Islamic State (IS) for two months, the UN has called for action to prevent this.

According to UN secretary general's special representative for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov, he is "seriously alarmed" by reports regarding the conditions in which the town's residents live, BBC reported Saturday.

"The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens," Mladenov said in a statement.

"I urge the Iraqi government to do all it can to relieve the siege and to ensure that the residents receive life-saving humanitarian assistance or are evacuated in a dignified manner."

With no electricity or drinking water, the town is even running out of food and medical supplies. The majority of its residents are Turkmen Shia, seen as apostates by IS.

On Friday, Iraq's most influential Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani had expressed concern over the plight of the town's inhabitants.

IANS