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RAF aborts Iraq air drop amid safety fears Iraq crisis: RAF aborts air drop amid safety fears
(about 1 hour later)
An RAF aid drop in Iraq had to be abandoned overnight owing to fears people could be injured by the cargo.An RAF aid drop in Iraq had to be abandoned overnight owing to fears people could be injured by the cargo.
The crew aborted the emergency delivery to a mountain in the north of the country at the last moment. Food and water was due to be dropped to people in the north of the country who have fled from Islamist militants.
Downing Street had said the government was looking to "step up" deliveries of aid to those fearing attacks from Islamic State (IS) fighters. David Cameron is facing pressure to recall Parliament to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, but No 10 said a recall was "not on the cards".
A Conservative MP has said Parliament should be recalled to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Amid calls for UK military involvement, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said a combat role was not envisaged.
A first RAF air drop took place overnight on Saturday but it was the second attempt on Sunday that was aborted. Mr Hammond, who earlier chaired a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, also rejected calls for Parliament to be reconvened.
There have been reports of slaughter of minority Christians and Yazidis by IS extremists in the north of the country. The prime minister is currently expected to continue his holiday in Portugal.
An MoD spokesman said: "The ongoing effort to get badly needed supplies to displaced people in northern Iraq continues. 'Brothers and sisters'
"The safety of the Yazidi community is paramount; with a number of people at the drop sites this morning, the crew made the responsible decision not to carry out the air drop to ensure that the lives of those in the area would not be put at risk." Islamic State (IS) fighters have seized territory across Iraq and Syria in the past few months, with continuing reports of the slaughter of Iraqi religious minority groups.
The UK government's emergency Cobra committee has held a meeting to discuss the growing crisis. Among those reportedly being targeted by fighters are Christians and Yazidis in the north, where up to 150,000 are said to be trapped by fighters on Mount Sinjar.
'Barbaric, brutal' The US has carried out four rounds of air strikes targeting IS fighters near Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Ex-army chief Lord Dannatt said UK troops might be needed on the ground to help support US military air strikes. The first RAF air drop of emergency supplies, including water, food and solar lanterns, took place overnight on Saturday - but the second attempt on Sunday was aborted.
He said that the West could not watch a genocide take place: "If we do nothing and wring our hands later and say once again, 'We shouldn't have let that happen,' then I think we have all let ourselves down." The Ministry of Defence said the RAF crew "made the responsible decision" not to carry out the air drop "to ensure that the lives of those in the area would not be put at risk".
He also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the 2003 Iraq war meant the US and UK could not say what was happening now was "not our problem". The next drop of aid is likely to be carried out within the next 24 hours.
"It may be unpopular but it might be the right thing to do," he said. Mr Hammond said that providing humanitarian assistance was "very challenging".
"The meeting we had this morning in Cobra looked at all the options available to us to step up our humanitarian support, including obtaining better situational awareness of what's going on on the mountain, both to facilitate the air drops and to start planning how we are going to get people out," he said.
Conservative MP Conor Burns has urged a recall of Parliament, saying he did not know whether the Commons would support military action in Iraq but it was "worth trying".
"These are brother and sister Christians and this is happening to them in no small part because of our record in Iraq," said the MP for Bournemouth West.
"I feel very strongly that the government's response is not hard enough or strong enough.
"These people are being beheaded by people from IS, and our only response is to drop some food or water on them.
"I think the US and UK should be involved in air strikes. I am not by any means advocating a ground war but I think we should put our special forces in there."
Ex-army chief Lord Dannatt also backed a recall of Parliament, saying "this is not the moment for decision-makers to be on holiday".
He said UK troops might be needed on the ground to help support US military air strikes.
He said the West could not watch a genocide take place: "If we do nothing and wring our hands later and say once again, 'We shouldn't have let that happen,' then I think we have all let ourselves down."
Downing Street insisted the government was focused on the humanitarian effort.
A spokeswoman said Mr Cameron remained "very much engaged" while on holiday in Portugal and "is managing to set out how he thinks the government should be responding and issues we should be looking at and considering".
"That system is working."
Military aid
Iraqi Kurds have appealed for international military aid to help defeat the Islamist militants.
Mr Burns said the UK should be "answering positively" requests from the Kurds to arm them, and that asylum should be offered in the UK.
Former British army commander Col Tim Collins called for a "unified front" against "the evil of the Islamic State".Former British army commander Col Tim Collins called for a "unified front" against "the evil of the Islamic State".
He said help should be sent in the form of training for resistance fighters to improve their tactics and provide security for communities under threat.He said help should be sent in the form of training for resistance fighters to improve their tactics and provide security for communities under threat.
Estimates for the number of the Yazidi religious minority trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq range from 50,000 to 150,000. Col Collins described the situation as "a humanitarian disaster which can only get worse".
Former armed forces minister, Andrew Robathan MP, told BBC Radio 4's World at One that just offering aid was insufficient in the face of the threat from IS militants.Former armed forces minister, Andrew Robathan MP, told BBC Radio 4's World at One that just offering aid was insufficient in the face of the threat from IS militants.
He said: "By all accounts, these are pretty brutal, barbaric people who are murdering, slaughtering, beheading, crucifying people in their path apparently.He said: "By all accounts, these are pretty brutal, barbaric people who are murdering, slaughtering, beheading, crucifying people in their path apparently.
"We have to realise it is no good just sending aid: the real solution is to stop these people and hopefully allow the Iraqis and Kurds to feed [civilians in northern Iraq].""We have to realise it is no good just sending aid: the real solution is to stop these people and hopefully allow the Iraqis and Kurds to feed [civilians in northern Iraq]."
The militant Islamist group, formerly known as Isis or Isil, has seized territory across Iraq and Syria in the past few months and has threatened Iraqi minority groups.
Conservative MP for Bournemouth West Conor Burns said the government's action of airdropping supplies was "not strong enough".
He said he was "quite seriously overcome" by some of the images he had seen from the region.
"These are brother and sister Christians and this is happening to them in no small part because of our record in Iraq," he said.
"I feel very strongly that the government's response is not hard enough or strong enough.
"These people are being beheaded by people from IS, and our only response is to drop some food or water on them.
"I think the US and UK should be involved in air strikes. I am not by any means advocating a ground war but I think we should put our special forces in there."
Mr Burns also said the UK should be "answering positively" requests from the Kurds, to arm them and that asylum should be offered.
Arming Kurds
Earlier, Iraqi Kurds appealed for international military aid to help defeat the Islamist militants.
The US has already launched four rounds of air strikes targeting Islamic State (IS) fighters near Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Col Collins, who led British troops into Iraq in 2003, described the situation as "a humanitarian disaster which can only get worse".
He said the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters had enough troops but they needed to be trained how to use their weapons and to improve tactics.
"They can provide the security, but without security there will be no respite for people who are trapped on mountainsides or under the cosh of the Islamic State," he said.
"And as we speak, the Islamic State will be slaughtering their way through whole communities. They will be destroying ancient communities and they must be stopped."
A Number 10 spokesman said on Sunday the humanitarian situation in northern Iraq "remains deeply worrying and consequently this continues to be our priority".
He added that work was ongoing to step up deliveries and increase the number of humanitarian advisers in Irbil to provide better links to the situation on the ground.
He also urged Iraqi political leaders to appoint a prime minister who could lead an inclusive government.
Iraq's minoritiesIraq's minorities
ChristiansChristians
YazidisYazidis