Humanitarian supplies reach Amerli
The RAF has delivered over 10 tonnes of food and water to the Iraq town of Amerli
Lifesaving UK aid for thousands of people trapped by ISIL in the Iraqi town of Amerli was delivered overnight by the Royal Air Force (RAF), International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced this morning.
Approximately 11.5 tonnes of food and water, including 420 jerry cans containing over 8,000 litres of water, were dropped over Amerli last night in two C130 consignments.
Justine Greening said:
The situation in northern Iraq remains deeply worrying, with thousands of Iraqi men, women and children suffering at the hands of ISIL terrorists.
The UK’s humanitarian response has been swift and effective. When people depend on our support and protection to survive we will continue to take action.
The RAF has now successfully delivered much-needed food and drinking water to people trapped in the town of Amerli, surrounded by ISIL fighters. We are standing by people in their time of need.
The UK carried out last night’s air drops alongside US and Australian aircraft that were also delivering humanitarian aid.
Justine Greening announced an additional £10 million humanitarian aid package on 27 August, bringing the total UK support for those displaced in Iraq to £23 million.
In addition to last night’s aid drops by the RAF, there have been eight Department for International Development (DFID) aid flights into the northern Iraqi city of Erbil and seven UK relief air drops over Mount Sinjar.
Notes to editors
- Images of DFID’s humanitarian response to the crisis in Iraq can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/
- The latest information on the UK Government’s humanitarian response can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/news/iraq-uk-government-response
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