Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) risks to civilians in areas of Somalia recently recaptured from al-Shabab, (b) ways of improving the mitigation of those risks and (c) potential merits of mitigating those risks through increased development support from his Department.

The UK recognises the importance of stabilisation to security in Somalia and the region. We coordinate closely with international partners, the UN, and the Somali Government to understand the needs of communities in areas recently recovered from al-Shabaab and to support stabilisation efforts, including through our Early Recovery Initiative. The UK advocates at all levels of the Somali Government that military planning should minimise humanitarian impacts and that all security actors should respect International Humanitarian Law, including the protection of civilians. Last month, I [Minister Mitchell] met the Somali Defence Minister and National Security Adviser and raised the need for robust planning to provide for the needs of vulnerable communities during and after military operations. The FCDO leads regular cross-government discussions regarding the UK's support to peacebuilding, security, development and stabilisation in Somalia.