POPE FRANCIS, in his strongest criticism of Islamist militants to date, has said no religious group which used violence and oppression can claim to be "the armour of God".

Francis made his com-ments during a one-day visit to Albania yesterday.

"Let no one consider themselves the armour of God while planning and carrying out acts of violence and oppression," he said in the presidential palace in Tirana in response to an address by Albanian President Bujar Nishani.

"May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman, above all to the right to life and the right of everyone to religious freedom," he said.

Francis, on his first trip as Pope to a European country outside Italy, made no direct reference to Islamic State militants who have seized territory in Syria and Iraq, but it was clear he had events in the Middle East in mind.

About 70,000 Syrian Kurds have fled into Turkey since Friday as Islamic State militants seized dozens of villages close to the border. A Kurdish politician from Turkey said local people had told him the militants were beheading people as they went from village to village.

Islamic State has declared a "caliphate" in the territories they control and have killed or driven out large numbers of Christians, Shi'ite Muslims and others who do not subscribe to their hardline version of Sunni Islam.

Asked specifically about Islamic State last month when returning from a trip to South Korea, Francis endorsed action by the international community to stop "unjust aggression".