A Catholic priest is speaking up on behalf of tens of thousands of displaced Christians who believe the Muslim-led government in Iraq abandoned them to the Islamic extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

“The people are angry because the government just gave up on them. They told us that, in Mosul, where there had normally been a presence of 60,000 soldiers, after the onslaught of ISIS, in only a matter of hours, these soldiers abandoned them, laying down their weapons,” said Fr. Rami Wakim in The Catholic Herald.

Many Christians have been forced to flee to the Kurdish regions of the country where Kurdish fighter groups have protected them.

Fr. Wakim said that most of the churches in the region are unable to hold full services inside their sanctuaries because they are filled with people sleeping on mattresses and piles of clothing because they have nothing left after fleeing Mosul and other areas overtaken by the terrorists.

“People look up to priests and bishops as the only solution, the only help they can get at a time where — of course we need to pray with them — but at this time prayer alone doesn’t seem enough and actions are required,” Wakim added.

The influx of Christian refugees is overwhelming the refugee centers in many of the areas and some aid groups have been told that they will have to transport refugees to other villages.