Thousands of Christians across Australia will join together in prayer this weekend for the plight of Christians in Iraq.

Saturday August 23 is a day of prayer, organised by Open Doors, a ministry to the persecuted church. Over 50 churches from all Australian states and territories are holding prayer meetings this weekend and over 6,300 people have committed to pray on social media.

A group of Christians from several denominations will meet on the steps of Adelaide’s Parliament House on Saturday to pray. “We see that an appeal to God is an important first step for drastic action,” says rally organiser Pastor Cathryn Crosby-Wright from the Pentecostal CRC Churches International.

Atrocities committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria continue to be reported in the news media this week, with the United Nations secretary-general for Iraq reporting Iraqi civilians are being subjected to “barbaric” sexual violence.

Up to 1,500 Yazidis and Christians may have been forced into sexual slavery, according to the Special Representatives of the UN, Secretary-General for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov and the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura.

“We are gravely concerned by continued reports of acts of violence, including sexual violence against women and teenage girls and boys belonging to Iraqi minorities,” they said in a joint statement.

Dr Michael Bassous, head of Bible Society’s operations in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon asks Christians in Australia to keep their brothers and sisters in the Middle East “in their daily prayers”.

“We have to show solidarity with the suffering Christians and minorities in this part of the world,” he said.