UK aid deliveries in Iraq 'imminent'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="story-date" style="display: block; float: left; padding: 13px 0px 8px; width: 290px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-image: url(http://static.bbci.co.uk/modules/sharetools/v1/img/sprite-0.3.2.png); background-position: -17px -167px; display: inline !important; height: 16px; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; width: 16px;"><a href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/uk-28722664#" style="background-image: url(http://static.bbci.co.uk/modules/sharetools/v1/img/sprite-0.3.2.png); background-position: -17px -167px; display: inline !important; height: 16px; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; width: 16px;" title="Share this page on Twitter">Unicef's Juliette Touma says people in the Sinjar mountains are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and protection</a></span></span><br /> <div class="story-body" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.235294); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 464px; word-spacing: 0px;"> <div class="embedded-hyper" style="clear: right; color: #505050; display: inline; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px -160px 0px 16px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 144px;"> <a class="hidden" href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/uk-28722664#story_continues_1" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; left: -5000px; line-height: 16px; position: absolute; text-decoration: none; top: -5000px;">Continue reading the main story</a><br /> <div class="hyperpuff" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"> <h2 style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.231em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 12px 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <a href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/24758587" style="background-color: #d60000; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: white; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: -13px; margin-top: -13px; padding: 13px 8px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; z-index: 1;">Struggle for Iraq</a></h2> <ul style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28116033" rel="published-1406819093628" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Rise of Islamic State</a></li> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28707063" rel="published-1407508037856" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Reluctant US return</a></li> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28711493" rel="published-1407510407337" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Why Irbil matters</a></li> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://beta.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28686607" rel="published-1407455538129" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">The peacock people</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The Royal Air Force (RAF) will start dropping humanitarian aid supplies in northern Iraq "imminently", the foreign secretary has said.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Philip Hammond said the aid would help thousands of members of the Yazidi minority, who are trapped on a mountain after fleeing from Islamist militants.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama discussed the situation over the phone earlier.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> No 10 said they had agreed "a way must be found... to avert a genocide".</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The Downing Street spokesman said estimates of the number of those trapped ranged from 50,000 to 150,000.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> He said there was little information about what supplies they had with them.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "They face a desperate choice between risking dehydration and starvation or descending into the barbaric hands of... terrorists [from the group now calling itself the Islamic State]," he said.</div> <span class="cross-head" style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.231em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Safe passage</span><br /> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The spokesman said Mr Cameron and Mr Obama had agreed the immediate priority was to get supplies to those trapped on Mount Sinjar, with the UK joining the US in delivering aid.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "Both leaders also agreed that aid drops are not a long-term solution, and that a way must be found to get these people to safety and to avert a genocide," the spokesman said.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "Discussions in the international community have yet to identify a safe passage for them and so officials have been tasked with working with the Kurds who have forces on the ground in the region, the United States, neighbouring countries and international aid organisations to explore how this could be done."</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Mr Hammond earlier said the air drops, in co-ordination with the US, could be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.</div> <div class="videoInStoryB" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 448px;"> <div class="emp page-bookmark-link-aware" id="emp-28709451-42911" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 252px; line-height: 16px; position: relative; width: 448px;"> <div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 252px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; position: relative; width: 448px; z-index: 999;"> <iframe frameborder="0" id="smphtml5iframeemp-28709451-42911" name="smphtml5iframeemp-28709451-42911" scrolling="no" src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/releases/smp-html/player.html?1.3.13" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 252px; left: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 448px;"></iframe></div> </div> <div class=" bbccom-advert bbccom_visibility_hidden bbccom_companion" id="bbccom_companion_28709451" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: -1px auto auto; overflow: hidden; visibility: hidden; width: 300px;"> </div> <div class="caption" style="clear: both; color: #333333; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 16px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"> The United States has carried out air strikes on Islamist militants in Iraq, as James Robbins reports</div> </div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Two cargo planes carrying aid left RAF Brize Norton on Saturday and have arrived in the region.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The C-130 planes were carrying supplies including reusable filtration containers filled with clean water, and solar lights that can recharge mobile phones as part of an £8m package of aid from the UK government.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Mr Hammond said: "We can expect a continuing drum beat of air drop operations, working in co-ordination with the US and potentially with others as well.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "More widely we are looking at how to support this group of [Yazidi] people and get them off that mountain, how we are going to facilitate their exit from what is a completely unacceptable situation.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "All of us are waiting for a new Iraqi government to be formed which will then have to take the lead in responding to the challenge that [militant group] Isis [now calling itself the Islamic State] is posing to the integrity of the Iraqi state," Mr Hammond said.</div> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; color: #505050; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <img alt="RAF Hercules being loaded with supplies at RAF Brize Norton" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76847000/jpg/_76847572_76847571.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: relative;" width="624" /><span style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 624px;">Two cargo planes carrying aid left RAF Brize Norton on Saturday</span></div> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; color: #505050; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <img alt="RAF Hercules being loaded with supplies at RAF Brize Norton" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76847000/jpg/_76847574_76847573.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: relative;" width="624" /><span style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 624px;">The supplies include drinking water and solar lanterns that double as mobile phone chargers</span></div> <span class="cross-head" style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.231em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Seized</span><br /> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The Islamic State (IS) has recently made gains in northern Iraq and is threatening the capital of the Kurdish semi-autonomous region, Irbil.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Thousands of members of the minority Yazidis, who follow an ancient faith that IS condemns as devil worship, have fled into the mountains from the Islamist militants who are reported by Iraq's human rights ministry to have seized hundreds of Yazidi women.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Parallel to the aid effort, the US has carried out air strikes against IS targets.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Mr Cameron has welcomed the US strikes but previously ruled out the UK taking part in military action.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> However, BBC political correspondent Alan Soady said the UK could support the US, by helping with air-to-air refuelling for planes or surveillance operations.</div> <div class="videoInStoryB" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 448px;"> <div class="emp page-bookmark-link-aware" id="emp-28708732-42912" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 252px; line-height: 16px; position: relative; width: 448px;"> <div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 252px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; position: relative; width: 448px; z-index: 999;"> <iframe frameborder="0" id="smphtml5iframeemp-28708732-42912" name="smphtml5iframeemp-28708732-42912" scrolling="no" src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/releases/smp-html/player.html?1.3.13" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 252px; left: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 448px;"></iframe></div> </div> <div class=" bbccom-advert bbccom_visibility_hidden bbccom_companion" id="bbccom_companion_28708732" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; height: 0px; line-height: 16px; margin: -1px auto auto; overflow: hidden; visibility: hidden; width: 300px;"> </div> <div class="caption" style="clear: both; color: #333333; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 16px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"> Ali Herfot, who fled to the Sinjar mountains, says he is worried and frightened</div> </div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> BBC political correspondent Iain Watson <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28718768" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">said that while Downing Street could not rule out military action indefinitely</a>, the mood was not "gung-ho" ahead of the 2015 general election.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The UK's emergency aid package includes:</div> <ul style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"> <li style="background-image: url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_20/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif); background-position: -1200px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: auto;">£2m of emergency supplies for 75,000, including aid to be dropped to those trapped on Mount Sinjar</li> <li style="background-image: url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_20/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif); background-position: -1200px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: auto;">The supplies will include reusable filtration containers filled with clean water, solar lights that can also be used to recharge mobile phones, and tents and tarpaulins</li> <li style="background-image: url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_20/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif); background-position: -1200px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: auto;">£3m of fast-tracked funding for charities and NGOs operating in Iraq</li> <li style="background-image: url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_20/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif); background-position: -1200px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: auto;">£2.5m of support for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)</li> <li style="background-image: url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_20/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif); background-position: -1200px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; text-rendering: auto;">£500,000 to help coordinate relief efforts</li> </ul> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> It brings the country's total support for the humanitarian effort in Iraq to £13m.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has advised Britons not to travel to those parts of Iraqi Kurdistan affected by fighting and to leave areas close to the conflict.</div> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; color: #505050; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <img alt="Map of US strikes on Iraq" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76829000/gif/_76829153_is_airstrikes_close_up-624v3.gif" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: relative;" width="624" /></div> </div> </div>

UK aid deliveries in Iraq 'imminent'

Unicef's Juliette Touma says people in the Sinjar mountains are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and protection Continue re...

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