Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which rebel groups in Syria are recognised and supported by the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We support several moderate opposition groups in Syria who we would want to see involved in a political process. We define these groups in terms of ideology and tactics: moderates are liberal, secular or Islamist in their political outlook, call for a wider pluralistic system that respects the rights of all Syrians and reject terrorism and terrorist tactics, for example by seeking to protect civilians from harm and to prevent abuses. Several moderate opposition groups refer to themselves as being part of the Free Syrian Army. The UK does not support designated terrorist organisations in Syria or groups who use terrorist tactics, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Jabhat al Nusra, which are designated terrorist organisations under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.