Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of the British Armed Forces were in Syria on the latest date for which figures are available; and what is the mission of such deployment.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
UK Armed Forces continue to play a leading role in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh. The UK has around 1100 military personnel committed to counter-Daesh operations across the Middle East.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the government of Nigeria that “in concert with our American and British allies, Nigeria’s military have pushed back the terrorists” on 19 June, what is the mandate of the British Armed Forces operating in north-east Nigeria.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
British Armed Forces activity in North East Nigeria is covered under an Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Nigeria that was signed in 2019, and is called Operation TURUS. The mission statement for TURUS is: Influence and train the operational capability and capacity of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and Multi-National Joint Task Force, in order to counter Violent Extremist Organisation activity in the North East of Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin area and contribute to Her Majesty's Government's policy goals and objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the objective of British forces being present in Southern Syria.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We remain committed to the fight against Daesh in Syria, and its objective of securing Daesh's lasting defeat. UK Armed Forces are playing a leading role in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh. The UK has had around 1,100 military personnel committed to counter-Daesh operations across the Middle East.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the resolution of the House of Commons on 2 December 2015 (HC Deb, col 499) approving military action against Daesh in Syria, what assessment they have made of the presence of British ground troops and their incurring casualties in Syria.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We remain committed to the fight against Daesh in Syria, and its objective of securing Daesh's lasting defeat. UK presence in the region is essential to ensuring that Daesh is not able to regroup. This includes contributions to Coalition leadership, force protection, and enablement. It would be almost impossible for any counter-Daesh mission to continue without these contributions.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether British forces have participated with, or assisted, armed groups in Syria since December 2015 in attacks against Syrian government forces or allied militias.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The United Kingdom is a member of the Global Coalition, formed in September 2014. Membership comprises 76 member states; including Iraq, Arab nations, European partners and the US, and five international institutions. The Coalition supports the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Iraqi Security Forces in the ongoing military campaign in Iraq and Syria.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British military casualties have been incurred in Syria since Parliament authorised the extension of the campaign against Daesh to Syria on 2 December 2015; and how many of those casualties were caused by Daesh.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Government publishes figures annually setting out statistics concerning casualties. For the latest figures I refer the Noble Baroness to the attached document, published on 28 March 2019
( the next figures will be released on 26 March 2020).
The information can also be found at the following link:
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the British Armed Forces have, or are intended to have, any involvement in controlling the al-Omar oilfield in Syria.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The UK remains fully committed to the Global Coalition against Daesh and we must not lose sight of the threat that they still pose.
We are in close contact with the US and other allies regarding the next stage of the campaign against Daesh in Syria but we are clear that our key aim is to defeat this evil terrorist group.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Global Coalition Against Daesh carried out airstrikes on ferries owned by the government of Syria transporting oil near al-Shuhail; why any such attack was carried out; and whether any such attack is part of the strategic aims of that Coalition.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
We have seen no evidence that the Coalition has conducted any airstrikes on ferries owned by the government of Syria transporting oil near al-Shuhail.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, with reference to the statement of the Combined Joint Task Force of 2 July that acknowledged responsibility for targeting a school on the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria, whether UK forces were involved in the operation.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There were no UK aircraft involved in the strike on a school on the outskirts of Raqqah, Syria on 20 March 2017.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the legal justification for the presence of UK forces in Syrian territory near al-Tanf.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Parliamentary debate and vote of 2 December 2015 approved the involvement of UK Armed Forces in counter-Daesh operations in Syria. UK aircraft were operating in defence of our Coalition partners who had come under attack in the conduct of such operations. Our actions on 21 June were a proportionate response to the threat posed to partner forces, complied with International Humanitarian Law and there were no civilian, coalition or partner casualties.