Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Hendrick Excerpts
Tuesday 20th October 2015

(8 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Last, but not least, I call Mr Hendrick.

Mark Hendrick Portrait Mr Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op)
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Will the Foreign Secretary give us his assessment of the current strength, effectiveness and numbers of the Free Syrian Army, a subject on which he has been very quiet recently? We want to get rid of ISIL and Assad, but there has been no mention of the FSA.

Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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There are many groups, running into the thousands, operating in Syria, and they form together in various alliances and umbrella organisations. The non-ISIL, non-al-Nusra part of the opposition probably has a fighting strength of about 80,000 soldiers deployed across the country. That is my latest estimate.