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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost to his Department of maintaining and prosecuting the defence of the northern and southern no-fly zones in Iraq each year since 1992, including projected figures for 1999; and if he will make a statement. [95970] Mr. Hoon: Our records do not separately identify expenditure incurred in maintaining the no-fly zones. However, the table sets out the overall additional expenditure incurred by my Department as a direct result of operations in the Gulf from 1992-93 onwards. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. £ million 1992-93 551 1993-94 179 1994-95 58 1995-96 14 1996-97 6 1997-98 16 1998-99 35 1999-2000 (estimate) 28 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Coalition patrols of the no-fly zones remain an essential humanitarian task in support of UN Security Council Resolution 688 as they prevent Saddam Hussein from using his airforce against the Iraqi people in the north and south. Since the end of Operation Desert Fox last December, Saddam has waged a systematic campaign against coalition aircraft carrying out these patrols. Some 215 Iraqi aircraft have violated the No-fly Zones, and there have been over 500 other direct threats against our aircrew, including missile attacks and heavy anti-aircraft fire. Coalition responses are limited strictly to proportionate action in self-defence against Iraqi weapons and facilities, which pose a direct threat to our forces.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

95970; 337 c99-100W

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Aviation Costs Iraq Peacekeeping operations Military aircraft

Contains statistics

Yes