Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Turkish government on (a) the conflict in Northern Syria and (b) that country's policy towards YPG forces.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Ministers and officials regularly discuss the situation in northern Syria with the Government of Turkey. The Foreign Secretary discussed international efforts on Syria with Turkish Foreign Minister Çavusoglu during in his visit to London on 8 July.
We also regularly discuss our differences of views on the YPG, which is an important part of the Syrian Democratic Forces. We acknowledge Turkey's security concerns regarding the PKK. The UK sees a clear distinction between the PKK, which we proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001, and the SDF, the partner force of the Global Coalition against Daesh in Syria. We pay tribute to the courage and sacrifices made by SDF in the fight against Daesh. We continue to urge the Kurdish elements of the SDF to distance themselves from the PKK and its terrorist activity. The UK also calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to respect international law.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Turkish government on British volunteers fighting with the Peoples Protection Forces, known as the YPG.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We have regular discussions with the Turkish authorities on the issue of stopping foreign fighters passing through Turkey to or from Syria. Since 2011, the FCO has advised against all travel to Syria. As we have made clear, where individuals travel to the region to participate in fighting and then return, they will be investigated. Any decision on whether to prosecute will be taken independently by the Crown Prosecution Service on a case by case basis.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with its Turkish counterpart on recent legal action in British courts against individuals returning to the UK following periods fighting with the Peoples Protection Forces known as the YPG.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We have regular discussions with the Turkish authorities on the issue of stopping foreign fighters passing through Turkey to or from Syria. Since 2011, the FCO has advised against all travel to Syria. As we have made clear, where individuals travel to the region to participate in fighting and then return, they will be investigated. Any decision on whether to prosecute will be taken independently by the Crown Prosecution Service on a case by case basis.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy that the activities of Kurdish fighters in Syria constitute terrorism.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK sees a clear distinction between the aims of the PKK, which we proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the partner force of the Global Coalition against Daesh in Syria. We pay tribute to the courage and sacrifices made by SDF in the fight against Daesh. We continue to urge the Kurdish elements of the SDF to distance themselves from the PKK and its terrorist activity. The UK also calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to respect international law.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) financial, (b) logistical and (c) military support has been provided by the Government to Kurdish fighters in Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
As part of the Global Coalition the UK has provided military support, including airstrikes, to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the Kurdish YPG are a contingent part, in the campaign to remove Daesh from north-eastern Syria. We have also provided humanitarian and limited stabilisation support to address the immediate needs of the local population in areas under SDF control in north-eastern Syria. We maintain political and diplomatic contact with a number of Kurdish groups to work towards a political solution to the conflict.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the lawfulness of actions taken by Turkish forces in Syria and whether they are in breach of the UN Charter in terms of (a) unilateral use of military force, (b) use of unlawful weapons including chemical weapons, (c) ethnic cleansing and forcible displacement, (d) violence and atrocities against civilians, (e) discrimination of Kurdish populations and (f) use of jihadist militias.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK made clear our opposition to the unilateral Turkish intervention in north-east Syria in October 2019. We welcome the ceasefire currently in place in the north-east and also acknowledge the important role Turkey has played in recent months to secure a ceasefire in Idlib. We consistently reiterate the importance of all parties to the Syrian conflict adhering to the current ceasefires and abiding by international law. The UK continues to raise concerns with Turkey over reports of violations of international law by Turkish backed forces in Syria, and to call for credible investigations into alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in areas under the control of armed groups supported by Turkey.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will undertake a public investigation into the air strike at Tal al-Jayer in Syria on 12 June 2018 to determine whether munitions from RAF planes were responsible for civilian casualties.
Answered by James Heappey
Abiding by International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict is of the utmost importance to this Government and is central to all of our military operations at home and overseas.
UK aircraft conducted a single strike on 12 June 2018. Ministry of Defence officials have cross referenced the village name with coordinates of that strike and established that they differ by approximately four miles and that the UK did not strike any buildings. Therefore, from the evidence available, we have no reason to believe that the UK was responsible for any civilian casualties on 12 June 2018.
As the Government has stated previously, we will always work closely with partners and civil society and investigate all credible claims that UK aircraft have been responsible for civilian casualties.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about reports that Turkish forces and associates in Afrin Canton of Syria set fire to farm and woodland, destroying 3000 olive trees.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Ministers and officials regularly discuss the situation in Syria with the Government of Turkey. In those discussions we make clear the importance of all parties to the Syrian conflict abiding by their obligations under international law. We have not raised the specific report of fires in Afrin.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Amnesty International Syria: 'Nowhere Is Safe For Us’: Unlawful Attacks And Mass Displacement In North-West Syria, published on 11 May, which states that Russia and Syria have deliberately hit hospitals on the UN ‘do not target’ list and that there is “strong evidence of Russia’s direct involvement in unlawful air strike”.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We assess that Amnesty International's report provides useful further evidence of unlawful attacks by the Assad regime and Russia on civilian targets in Idlib. It therefore complements recent reports by the UN Commission of Inquiry and the UN Board of Inquiry. It is inexcusable that hospitals have been attacked despite their coordinates being provided to Russia and others by the UN deconfliction mechanism. The UK continues to call for accountability for these crimes and for all parties, including the Assad regime and Russia, to respect the ceasefire in Idlib and to abide by International Humanitarian Law. We also continue to support those displaced by the recent offensive, as documented in the Amnesty International report.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about reports that it is attempting to change the ethnic demography in northern Syria by moving people from west to east across the Euphrates river; and what assessment they have made of reports that houses are being demolished and equipment is being stolen in Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain by Turkish backed forces.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We have raised concerns with the Turkish Government over reports of human rights violations by Turkish backed forces in Syria, and have made clear that any attempt at demographic change would be unacceptable. We are aware of the reports relating in Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn but are not in a position to assess their validity. We consistently reiterate the importance of all parties to the Syrian conflict abiding by their obligations under international law.