Syria: Islamic State

(asked on 31st October 2017) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the reported use of civilians, including women and children as human shields by ISIS combatants in Syria; and whether this falls within acceptable collateral damage.


This question was answered on 3rd November 2017

As operations in Iraq and Syria have intensified we have seen increasing evidence of Daesh's callous disregard for human life, their unwillingness to allow civilians to leave their homes, and in some cases their deliberate attempts to use civilians to shield their fighters from coalition strikes, which is completely unacceptable.

All UK strikes are planned and executed in strict accordance with International Humanitarian Law and we take all feasible precautions to protect civilians from the effects of military action.

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