Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) refugee and (b) other aid agencies on the Alawites in Syria.

We are in regular discussion with our UN and NGO partners, as well as with other international partners, to get a fuller understanding of the impact of recent violence in coastal areas on Alawites and other communities living there, and to assess needs and responses. We continue to support humanitarian organisations to provide aid across Syria. The White Helmets, supported by UK funding, are responding in coastal areas by providing lifesaving medical services, responding to fires in civilian facilities, providing clean drinking water, and recovering bodies.