‘Stalin tried it’: British colonel calls for military intervention to rescue ancient Iraqi civilisations from destruction

Ancient civilisations will be lost to the world unless military help is sent to Iraq, a British colonel has said.

UK Colonel Tim Collins has called for a recall of the British Parliament to debate the crisis confronting 30,000 Yazidi refugees trapped on Mount Sinjar, the UK Telegraph has reported.

Col. Collins is famed for his inspirational eve-of-battle speech leading the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, in Kuwait in 2003.

His speech called on his men to display honour and courage in their conduct in Iraq, to respect the local customs and to bring to justice Saddam Hussein and his regime.

A copy of his speech, which was recorded by a journalist, reportedly hung in the US President's Oval Office in the White House.

Col. Collins' call for a new Iraq intervention came after the United Nations warned the world had "hours" to act before potential genocide by Islamic State militants.

Writing in a column for the Telegraph, he said there was "no precedent" for the situation in Iraq.

"Pol Pot was the closest it came, Stalin tried it," he said.

However, British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond said there were no plans to recall Parliament despite the rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq.

Britain has been delivering supplies to Kurdish fighters and has joined the international effort in providing aid drops to the stranded Yazidis.

Col. Collins said the UK had a "moral responsibility" to help Iraq, given Britain had helped create the country in 1920.

He said Britain needed to arm Kurdish fighters - known as Peshmerga - with better weapons, and join the US in a series of coordinated airstrikes.

"Air drops are a pebble in the ocean compared to what’s needed," he wrote.

Australia could join the US-led aid effort in a matter of days, while yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to rule out military action against the Islamic State.