Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of arrests by Faylaq Al-Sham of people in Yazidi villages near Afrin in northwest Syria on 4 December; what assessment they have made of the wellbeing of those who have been arrested; and what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about (1) the release of any such people, and (2) the protection of Yazidis in Afrin.

We are aware of reports of arrests near Afrin in north-west Syria. Ministers and officials regularly discuss the situation in Syria with the Government of Turkey. In those discussions we make clear the importance of all parties to the Syrian conflict abiding by their obligations under international law. We have not raised the specific report of arrests near Afrin or made any assessment of the welfare of those detained.