A rally in front of Notre Dame of Paris Cathedral gathered around five thousand people on Sunday. Many brandished a ن as a sign of solidarity with Christians being forced to flee their homes in northern Iraq.

Jihadists in Mosul have been spray-painting the Arabic letter ن - pronounced "noon" - on Christian homes, identifying the families as "Nazarenes" (the word for Christians in the Koran).

The ن has become the symbol of a larger, online campaign in solidarity with Iraq’s Christians.

French MP Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet of the right-wing UMP party took part in Sunday’s rally, along with lawmakers from the ruling Socialist Party and France’s Green party.

A protester held up a sign that read "Them Today, Us Tomorrow."

Another sign read "I am dying from silence."

A young woman wore a t-shirt that read "Iraq: Shh, we're busy killing."

"France, hear me crying" and "I am endangered".

Protesters waved Iraqi and Assyrian flags.