MESOP : CAMERON’S IDEAS – PLAN TO CREATE NO-FLY ZONE IN SYRIA TO HALT REFUGEE EXODUS

David Cameron presented with the option by military chiefs at National Security Council – September 15, 2015, EXCLUSIVE By Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor – THE SUN – Britain is looking at setting up a no fly zone over Syria’s battle fields in a bid to halt the refugee exodus to Europe, SunNation can reveal. David Cameron was presented with the option by military chiefs at the National Security Council this afternoon.It was one of several drawn up after the PM ordered top brass and intelligence bosses to look again at how to end the bloody four-year long civil war.

Any bid by Britain and the US to impose a no fly zone over tyrannical President Assad’s killing grounds was ruled out after the government lost a key Commons vote on missile strikes against him in 2013.But the disastrous refugee crisis that has seen 300,000 cross the Mediterranean already this year has proved a tipping point for No10.It is now back on the table, along with expanding precision RAF jet and drone strikes into Syria to target ISIS leaders around their HQ of Raqqa. The evil Assad regime’s use of barrel bombs from helicopters – sometimes laced with chemical weapons – on civilian areas is said by aid groups to be one of the greatest reasons for the mass flight. They terrify the population, and are responsible for 200 civilian deaths a week – around 60% of all of them. Diplomats argue the move also sends a firm message to the region that the West is finally prepared to act to end the war, making refugees more likely to stay in camps in Lebanon and Jordan. SunNation can also reveal that Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told backbench MPs in a private briefing on Monday that he was “open to the idea” of a no fly zone.

Mr Fallon added: “We will need to have a full plan”.

The biggest obstacle to it is fears that it may lead to a confrontation with Russia, as the Kremlin have imported high tech air defence systems to help Assad defend his diminishing territory.One idea mooted to get around any threat to coalition pilots is to enforce the no fly zone from naval ships at sea armed with cruise missiles. The move would also mean a fresh showdown with MPs as it would mean a significant deepening of Britain’s involvement in the conflict. A senior Whitehall source said: “The PM has made it clear that he wants to do more in Syria as the root cause of the ISIS threat as well as the refugee crisis. A no fly zone is back on the table as one option. “The National Security Council asked the MoD for more work to be done on it.” http://www.sunnation.co.uk/plan-to-create-no-fly-zone-in-syria-to-halt-refugee-exodus/