British aid drops in Iraq under review after success of US operations

 
Fleeing: Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community
Standard Reporter14 August 2014
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The government is reviewing the need for further aid drops to northern Iraq after suggesting trapped refugees now have "adequate supplies".

Downing Street said UK military personnel are now unlikely to be deployed Mount Sinjar after the success of a US special forces operation, which saw thousands of Yazidis escape.

US rescuers found only "a few thousand" remaining - with those still trapped said to be in a batter than expected condition.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "good news" but added that the UK had armed forces assets in place to "help out in the right way" if the situation demanded it.

He confirmed that an RAF Tornado jet equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment had flown over the area overnight while further aid drops had also taken place.

Chinook helicopters, which could be used to transport personnel or pick up refugees stranded on the mountain by Islamic State (IS) forces, had also arrived at a base in Cyprus.

Speaking after Mr Cameron chaired today's Cobra emergency committee meeting, a No 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister concluded that the humanitarian situation remains our priority.

"While the situation on Mount Sinjar is better than we had feared, and a rescue mission now looks far less likely, we will continue to monitor this situation closely with our US partners and Kurdish forces.

"We are currently reviewing the need for additional air drops, given that there appear to be adequate supplies on the mountain, but we will keep the option open if we establish there is further need.

"We will also maintain our Chinook helicopters in the region so we have the flexibility to help the most vulnerable if the need arises, and our Tornados will also stay out there in case we require further surveillance of the area."

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will use tomorrow's meeting of European Union foreign ministers to press for "better co-ordination of aid and military supplies to Iraq", No 10 added.

United Nations' assessments had previously estimated that around 30,000 refugees had been trapped on Sinjar in searing heat.

But US defence secretary Chuck Hagel cast doubt on the need for a rescue mission following the findings of the reconnaissance team.

"As a result of that assessment, I think it's most likely far less likely now that we would undertake any kind of specific humanitarian rescue mission that we have been planning," he said. "That doesn't mean that we won't."

No 10 said the US view had been "reinforced" by images captured by UK Tornados during a surveillance mission over the mountain last night, adding they could "not identify people in the numbers previously estimated".

The United Nations has declared the situation in Iraq to be a "level 3 emergency" - the highest rating it gives to crises.

The Department for International Development (DfId) is providing funding for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to provide a month's worth of water and medicine for 12,000 refugees who escaped from Sinjar and made it to a refugee camp across the Syrian border.

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