Humanitarian aid airdrops by the RAF to relieve the starvation in besieged Syrian towns are being discussed by the UK Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development but will only be used as a last resort, the international development secretary, has said.
Justine Greening fears thatairdrops undertaken without the agreement of the Assad government could be in breach of international law, jeopardise the delivery of other aid to 12 million other Syrians inside the country and possibly fall into the wrong hands.
Syrian air defences could also be quite capable of shooting down any British planes flying across Syria without government permission.
“It is incredibly dangerous – aid convoys are often trying to cross battle lines and go into war zones to get to people who are stuck,” Greening said. “If you cannot guarantee safety and security, there is a real danger that the aid you are sending down the road will not make it, and far from helping the people in need, the risk is that it gets commandeered by the very people that are besieging the people you are trying to help.”
Calls for the RAF to drop food aid, and not just bombs, are gathering traction in online petitions, especially after reports the UN had knowingly downplayed the scale of starvation in some towns to retain the cooperation of the Syrian government for the delivery of aid elsewhere in the country.
Russia’s air force, working with the cooperation of the Assad government, dropped 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the besieged eastern Syrian town of Deir ez-Zor on 15 January and is continuing humanitarian operations in the region, the Tass news agency quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying on Wednesday.
The issue of unfettered humanitarian access will be put at the centre of a London conference on aid for Syria on 4 February jointly chaired by David Cameron and designed to be the major British contribution to the Syrian crisis.
The donors’ conference is designed to raise further $7bn (4.9bn) in funds for Syria this year, provide education for all Syrian children in refugee camps by 2016-17 and reduce the push factors that are driving Syrians towards Europe. It is also expected to break the logjam that has prevented $3bn in EU aid promised in October to Turkey from being delivered.
Up to 20 countries are expected to attend, including the leaders of Russia and Iran, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. The focus will be on long-term aid but the conference is likely to also see efforts to speed the peace talks due to start in 25 January in Geneva.
The issue of UN aid access has a practical political urgency since Riad Hajib, the head of the Syrian opposition council, has said it could not negotiate while Syrians were dying as a result of bombardments and blockades.
Discussing the besieged Syrian towns, Greening said: “It has always been understood that however much there may be political stalemate there are some things we should agree on such as civilians not being deprived of life-saving medicines and food.
“These things should not be a matter for debate. When people look back on this crisis, the most shocking and disturbing aspect will be these people that could not be reached – a wholesale systematic infringement of humanitarian law.”Cameron is also seeking EU support to lift trade restrictions on Jordan so more of its goods can be traded into EU single market. He also wants enterprise zones to be set up in Jordan that will give jobs to Syrians trapped in Jordanian camps the opportunity to work.
Cameron will lobby support for his plan at the Davos business conference in Switzerland.