Kurds flee from ISIS into Turkey, once again involved in a war not of their making

Thousands of Kurds are once again on the move... streaming into Turkey to escape the extremists sweeping through Iraq and Syria. But many have also stayed to fight as Kurdish forces are on the front lines fighting against the extremists. It's not a fight they picked, and they have plenty of history to suspect the world won't be grateful for their efforts.

It has not been a safe country, especially for the Kurds. All the genocides and atrocities have been against the Kurds. We have all rights to be suspicious.Masrour Barzani. head of Kurdish intelligence service

The director of security for Iraqi Kurds knows precisely what kind of pressures and persecution the Kurds have endured and continue to face.

It has dominated international news this week. The threat of US airstrikes may have actually made the extremists more aggressive to gain control of Iraqi and Syrian territory. The residents of northern Syria in particular are feeling the upheaval, and many have left their homes for safety and are fleeing to Turkey. Many of those caught in the crossfire are Kurds.

Hermione Gee, a freelance reporter who is in Silopi,Turkey on the border with Iraq,

Ariane Rummery is the spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency.

While tens of thousands of Kurds run for Turkeys' border, Kurds in northern Iraq still host whole communities of refugees who left Iraq's Kurdish region this summer.

The Kurdish Regional Government says it's about 1.4 million people. The Kurds there are also the frontline force against ISIS militants. And many Kurds feel they're in a familiar position: not making the decisions, but feeling the consequences.

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman is the Kurdistan Regional Government's High Representative to the UK.

This segment was produced by The Current's Sujata Berry, Naheed Mustafa and Sarah Grant.