Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect civilians in Syria in its strategy to tackle ISIL.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Ultimately the best way to protect civilians in Syria from Daesh’s brutality and inhumanity is by defeating Daesh and establishing peace and stability in the region. We are the second largest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid to Syria and the region. Many of our projects are aimed at protecting civilians – such as support to civil defence and search and rescue teams throughout Syria.

By joining Coalition airstrikes in Syria, the UK is bringing the most advanced forms of targeting and precision weaponry, possessed by only a small number of international actors. We observe rigorous targeting protocols. These have meant that in more than a year of strikes against Daesh targets in Iraq, there have been no reports of civilian casualties resulting from UK operations. We are bringing these same protocols in our work in Syria.