Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of air drops of food supplies and aid into besieged areas during the current ceasefire in Syria.

Penny Mordaunt

The International Syria Support Group meeting in Munich in February set out a clear way ahead for the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid in Syria and for a cessation of hostilities. The UK continues to keep the humanitarian situation in Syria under review and has been playing a full role, as part of the Humanitarian Aid Task Force, supporting the UN and its partners in successfully stepping-up deliveries of food, water and medicine. Road delivery is the preferred method of delivering aid wherever possible since air drops require clear drop zones, safe access for the intended recipients, and need to be co-ordinated with authorities on the ground. While the UK has been seeking to support World Food Programme efforts to air-drop supplies to Deir ez-Zour, our assessment is that these conditions are not being met in Syria.