Written question asked by Emily Thornberry (Labour) on Monday, 26 November 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 29 November 2018 (named day). It was answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative) on Thursday, 29 November 2018 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Syria: Military Intervention

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of civilians killed in Syria as a result of coalition air strikes in 2018; and how many of the air strikes which resulted in civilian deaths involved British armed forces personnel.

Answer: The collection of data on civilian casualties during the campaign by the Global Coalition against Daesh is a matter for the Coalition itself. All missions comply fully with International Humanitarian Law, are meticulously planned and every care is taken to minimise the effect of our military action on civilians and civilian objects. It is therefore deeply regrettable that a UK air strike on 26 March 2018, targeting Daesh fighters in eastern Syria, resulted in an unintentional civilian fatality. This was reported to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 2 May 2018 (HCWS665). The Ministry of Defence takes any incidence of civilian casualty extremely seriously: we assess the evidence in detail and report back on our findings. We are committed to continuing that practice.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 195541
Session: 2017-19
Related items: Counter-Daesh Operations
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Written statements
House of Commons
Subjects: Armed forces Death Civilians Military intervention Syria
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk