Britain warns Russia to stop Syria air strikes

LONDON: The UK is warning Russia in “the strongest possible terms” to stop air strikes in Syria over “war crimes” fears, MPs have heard.

Foreign minister Andrew Murrison said attacks in Idlib in Syria have seen aircraft bombing civilian targets like hospitals and schools. Dr Murrison said: “These attacks are a clear breach of international law. We call in the strongest possible terms on the regime and Russia to cease these attacks and end the suffering of those in the Idlib Governorate.”

Tory former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell called on the UK to “name and shame” pilots and planes involved in air strikes on civilians. He said: “This is quite clearly a breach of international humanitarian law. It is arguably a war crime, and we must ensure wherever we can there is no impunity for such grotesque actions.”

Dr Murrison replied: “Either the regime and its supporters’ statements are wildly inaccurate or its targeting is wildly inaccurate. You will know the UK provides the co-ordinates of sensitive sites including schools and hospitals.

“You will share my despair at the number of those institutions, including two major hospitals, that have been damaged in this, and I am sure you will share my enthusiasm too that those who are responsible for this are, sooner or later, brought to book.”

Earlier, asking an urgent question on the issue, Labour MP Alison McGovern (Wirral South) said: “Just in recent months, reports say that nearly 500 civilians have been killed due to air strikes.”

She added: “We have seen, yet again, the bombing of hospitals, and reports from the region tell of scores of hospitals being attacked, and there are millions of people in the Idlib area that are in desperate need of health care. So a bad situation is being made much, much worse by our failure to enforce the basic rules of conflict.”

Shadow DfID minister Alex Norris asked what steps the UK was taking with international partners to ensure “these appalling attacks on health facilities do not go by with impunity”.Tory Bob Stewart (Beckenham) said: “It is a war crime definitely to attack either a school or a hospital, there’s no doubt about that.” He asked if there was good evidence that Russian aeroplanes have attacked such targets and if so was the matter being raised in the UN Security Council.

Dr Murrison replied that Russia was “clearly a party to the current situation”, supporting the regime, adding: “It must be held to account, it must be answerable for the consequences of its actions.”

Tory Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) said he supported taking in more refugees. Labour’s Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) spoke of the need do more on bringing refugees to the UK, stating: “Can we not do more to bring more people here?”