David Cameron should recall Parliament to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq, a Conservative MP says.
There have been continuing reports of slaughter of minority Christians and Yazidis by Islamic State (IS) extremists in the north of the country.
Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns said the government's action of airdropping supplies was "not strong enough".
Ex-Army head Lord Dannatt said UK troops might be needed on the ground to help support US military air strikes.
He said that the West could not watch a genocide take place: "If we do nothing and wring our hands later and say once again, 'We shouldn't have let that happen', then I think we have all let ourselves down."
He also told BBC Radio 4's Today that the 2003 Iraq war meant the US and UK could not say what was happening now was "not our problem".
"It may be unpopular but it might be the right thing to do," he said.
Former British Army commander Col Tim Collins called for a "unified front" against "the evil of the Islamic State".
He said help should be sent in the form of training for resistance fighters to improve their tactics and provide security for communities under threat.
Estimates for the number of the Yazidi religious minority trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq range from 50,000 to 150,000.
The militant Islamist group, formerly known as Isis or Isil, has seized territory across Iraq and Syria in the past few months and has threatened Iraqi minority groups.
Tory MP Mr Burns said he was "quite seriously overcome" by some of the images he has seen from the region.
"These are brother and sister Christians and this is happening to them in no small part because of our record in Iraq," he said.
End Quote Lord Dannatt Former head of the armyIn the face of a crisis of this scale, with the potential for so much human misery, this is not the moment for decision-makers to be on holiday"
"I feel very strongly that the government's response is not hard enough or strong enough.
"These people are being beheaded by people from IS, and our only response is to drop some food or water on them.
"I think the US and UK should be involved in air strikes. I am not by any means advocating a ground war but I think we should put our special forces in there."
Mr Burns also said the UK should be "answering positively" requests from the Kurds, to arm them and that asylum should be offered.
Arming KurdsEarlier, Iraqi Kurds appealed for international military aid to help defeat the Islamist militants.
The US has already launched four rounds of air strikes targeting Islamic State (IS) fighters near Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
British military aircraft made the first drop of UK aid in Iraq over the weekend.
Col Collins, who led British troops into Iraq in 2003, described the situation as "a humanitarian disaster which can only get worse".
He said the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters had enough troops but they needed to be trained how to use their weapons and to improve tactics.
"They can provide the security, but without security there will be no respite for people who are trapped on mountainsides or under the cosh of the Islamic State," he said.
"And as we speak, the Islamic State will be slaughtering their way through whole communities. They will be destroying ancient communities and they must be stopped."
Former Tory minister Alistair Burt told BBC Radio 4's The Westminster Hour that there "may be a need to arm the Kurdish fighters rather more intensively".
"I don't think there's any need to recall Parliament unless the prime minister wants to move on from humanitarian aid," he said.
"If he does and wants support, I think Parliament should give it to him."
A Number 10 spokesman said the humanitarian situation in northern Iraq "remains deeply worrying and consequently this continues to be our priority".
"We are working to step up these deliveries in the coming days. Meanwhile, we continue to engage with the US, Kurds, Turks and other international partners on how to get those trapped on the mountain to safety.
"And we are planning to increase the number of humanitarian advisers in Irbil to provide better links to the situation on the ground.
"We continue to urge Iraqi political leaders to appoint a prime minister who can lead an inclusive government.
"This is vital to ensure that Iraqis themselves are able to co-ordinate the response across the country against Isis, uniting all Iraqi communities against these evil terrorists."
Christians
- The majority are Chaldeans, part of the Catholic Church
- Numbers have fallen from around 1.5 million since the US-led invasion in 2003 to 350,000-450,000
- In Nineveh province, they live mainly in towns such as Qaraqosh (also known as Baghdida), Bartella, al-Hamdaniya and Tel Kef
Yazidis
- Secretive group whose origins and ethnicity are subject to continuing debate
- Religion incorporates elements of many faiths
- Belief that God's will is carried out by seven angels
- Most important among them is the Peacock Angel, considered by some Muslims and Christians to be the devil but who Yazidis say was redeemed
- Because of this, Yazidis are viewed by some as devil worshippers
- There are estimated to be around 500,000 Yazidis worldwide, most living in Iraq's Nineveh plains
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