The UN has expressed “serious alarm” about a possible massacre in the northern Iraqi town of Amerli, besieged by Islamic State militants.

The town has been cut off for two months and residents, mostly Shia Turkmen, have no electricity or drinking water and are running out of food supplies.

"The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens," Special Representative Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement.

"I urge the Iraqi government to do all it can to relieve the siege and to ensure that the residents receive life-saving humanitarian assistance or are evacuated in a dignified manner."

The Russian military has fired artillery at Ukrainian forces from inside Ukraine said a spokesperson for NATO earlier on Friday.

“Russian artillery support — both cross-border and from within Ukraine — is being employed against the Ukrainian armed forces,” said Oana Lungescu.

NATO’s Secretary General criticised the recent incursion of a Russian aid envoy into Ukraine whilst highlighting heightening Russian military activity in Ukrainian territory, reports the New York Times.

“I condemn the entry of a Russian so-called humanitarian convoy into Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities and without any involvement of the International Committee of the Red Cross. These developments are even more worrying as they coincide with a major escalation in Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine since mid-August, including the use of Russian forces,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"The killers, destroyers and torturers in Syria have been empowered and emboldened by the international paralysis.”