An Australian man has joined a Christian militia fighting against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in northern Iraq. The ABC can reveal that Melbourne man Khamis Gewargis Khamis joined an Assyrian militia called Dwekh Nawsha, which translates as "self sacrificers". The militia was formed in response to Islamic State's assault on the Assyrian minority in Iraq. IS has forced tens of thousands of Assyrians from their homes across the north of the country. "They don't discriminate when it comes to killing, torture and so on," Mr Khamis told the ABC from his base in northern Iraq. "These are barbaric people, they came here only to die for what they believe in, so you can imagine the terror that they are spreading among the families, the kids and so on." Mr Khamis, who is married and has two children, is stationed with other Dwekh Nawsha fighters in a town called Baqofa, around 30 kilometres from the major IS-held city of Mosul. Two kilometres down the road is a town called Batnaya, which IS holds after driving out the Christian inhabitants. "In the last few days [Islamic State] have been trying to come to these towns. They were somehow stopped by the coalition forces, from the air, and Peshmerga as well," Mr Khamis said. "We are on frontline, so last few nights there has been bombing from both sides, shelling. So yes, Dwekh Nawsha is frontline, trying to defend this town as much as we can." While Dwekh Nawsha is nominally fighting on the same side as the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the central Iraqi government, Mr Khamis said they received little help from either side. "We have to have our own force, so we do need support as much as we can. We are appealing to the international community, particularly Australia, to help as well," he said. "To be honest, Dwekh Nawsha is not receiving anything from the central government or the Kurdistan government or Kurdistan region, as we are independent militia, so as you can imagine, these Dwekh Nawsha need salaries, weapons, accommodation and so on." 'Happy to stand in front of the law' Mr Khamis said he was aware he might be breaking Australian foreign fighters laws by taking up arms with the militia, but that he was ready to defend himself if there were any consequences. "I am concerned, we do love Australia, it's our second home, we love it as much as we love Iraq," he said. "We are concerned, but if anything happens because of my travel here and supporting and joining Dwekh Nawsha I am happy and prepared to stand in front of the law. "[Islamic State fighters] don't discriminate when it comes to killing, torture and so on.

"So we would like the entire international community to be stronger, to get together and urgently help [the Assyrians] from humanitarian side, and also to do what they can to eradicate [Islamic State], to eliminate them, to drive them out of these towns, villages and these territories so the people can return back to their homes and their lands. This is our message, help us. Please." Assyrian community leaders in Australia have also asked the Government not to penalise members of the community who go to fight against IS. "These people, they're not going there to join the ISIS or do a terrorist attack, they are going there to provide moral support for our Dwekh Nawsha, so hopefully we can clarify that with the Australian Government to see what's their stand on a situation like this guy," Hermiz Shahin of the Assyrian Universal Alliance told the ABC. Mr Shahin also urged the Australian Government to provide assistance to the Assyrians of Iraq. "We need immediate action from the Australian Government, first to provide safe haven for our people, especially in the liberated areas because they are out of protection," he said. "Secondly we ask them to support our demand for establishment of an autonomous region. This is only the ultimate solution to keep our people in their homeland. "And the other thing is our people are ready now to carry weapons and protect themselves against ISIS and they need international support and this is what we are asking the Australian Government to do." The Attorney-General's Department has been contacted for comment.