DAVID Cameron’s case for bombing missions on Daesh targets in Syria unravelled further yesterday when Michael Fallon warned there was a risk of civilian casualties from the RAF’s bombing campaign.
The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary both said there had been no reports of civilian deaths in Iraq despite RAF jets carrying out 367 air strikes. But yesterday Fallon said that war was “a messy business” and mistakes happen.
His backtracking is the second time the government’s argument for air strikes has been undermined since the vote to approve military intervention last Wednesday.
On Friday it emerged military chiefs had warned Cameron against declaring that there were 70,000 Syrian moderate fighters ready to work with RAF air power to take on Daesh on the ground.
“You cannot eliminate all risk,” Fallon told a Sunday newspaper.
“It is very important for the campaign that we avoid mistakes. You can’t completely eliminate mistakes in wartime, but we do our best to ensure that any civilian damage is minimised. I also have to be sure that what’s being proposed is absolutely consistent with the rules of engagement that I set and that the Prime Minister has approved.”
Opposition politicians seized on Fallon’s comments, saying they “came as no surprise”.
SNP Westminster Leader Angus Robertson said: “The SNP raised concerns before the vote in the House of Commons that further military action in Syria would only worsen the unimaginable human suffering that civilians there are already experiencing. The RAF is continuing to take part in airstrikes in Syria but the reality is that we are still in the dark about the UK Government’s exit strategy or plan to secure long-term peace and stability in the region.
“The Prime Minister cannot ignore these important questions, and I will continue to ask them. How will the UK plan secure peace on the ground in Syria? As the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee asked: ‘which ground forces will take, hold, and administer territories captured from Daesh in Syria’?
Patrick Harvie MSP, the Scottish Greens co-convener, added: “Sadly, Michael Fallon’s admission to the possibility of civilian casualties comes as no surprise.
“Civilian deaths are inevitable as a result of the air strikes the UK is involved in, and no MP who voted in favour can have been in any doubt about that.
“The UK Government has gone against reason, safety and good strategic judgement, and forged ahead with a reckless, reactionary bombing campaign in the midst of a complex civil war.
“This action risks taking Syria’s situation from bad to worse, and helping Daesh to propagate the lie that this is a conflict between the West and Islam.”
Last week Alex Salmond said supporters of air strikes who said Britain’s precision weapons meant there would be no civilian casualties from a bombing campaign against Daesh in Syria were “living on a different planet”.
The former First Minister said dropping bombs in an urban area such as Raqqa, where the group has its headquarters, would inevitably lead to civilian casualties despite the UK’s much-touted targeting techniques and Brimstone missiles.
Speaking during Wednesday’s debate, Cameron claimed the Government had a target of zero civilian casualties from British military action in Syria and said that in a year and three months of British air strikes in Iraq there had been “no reports of civilian casualties”.
However, critics said Daesh-controlled areas of Iraq and Syria were far too dangerous for any kind of reporting or observation from independent monitors and that it was known from previous conflicts that “surgical” strikes rarely failed to claim lives.
Data compiled by the Iraq Body Count project suggested as many as 369 civilians were killed by the international coalition between January and June of this year. From July to December 2014 – the beginning of strikes – an estimated 118 civilians died.
The Defence Secretary’s words came as Britain carried out its second set of air strikes in Syria.
Following the first British missions on Wednesday night, two RAF Tornados and two RAF Typhoons dropped eight laser-guided bombs on oil wells in the al-Omar oilfield in eastern Syria at around 8pm UK time on Friday.
Fallon also announced that Britain would have a military “surge” that would take the RAF to the “centre” of the air war against Daesh. But he was unable to say how long the RAF would continue the bombing campaign.
“We haven’t set a timetable,” he said. “We are surging our strike force at the moment and will keep that under review.”
MoD is at fault for hundreds of injuries to its personnel every year, lawyers will tell MPs
Salmond: Corbyn should stop being ‘nice’ to Labour rebels who defied him over Syria
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here