Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people in Idlib who belong to an armed group that has been proscribed (1) by the UK Government, and (2) under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267.

Given the complex and evolving situation on the ground, it is difficult to accurately assess the number of persons belonging to proscribed armed groups in Idlib, Syria. We estimate there may be around 19,000-25,000 persons belonging to proscribed armed groups in total, of which the majority (approximately 12,000-15,000) belong to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. We estimate Huras Al Din and the Turkistan Islamic Party each have around 3,500-5,000 members. There are also likely to be small numbers of individuals aligned to Daesh. The estimated total number of persons belonging to proscribed armed groups represents less than one percent of the approximately three million people living in Idlib.