City panel would support UK intervention in Syria – but only with United Nations backing
MORE than half of our City panel would support UK military intervention in Syria provided it had United Nations backing, according to the results of our latest Voice of the City/PoliticsHome.com poll.
Fifty-one per cent of the panel, drawn exclusively from the City’s business and finance professionals, would either be “very” or “somewhat likely” to support UN-backed military action involving the UK. Similar numbers (53 per cent) are in favour of UN intervention without UK involvement, but the support dropped significantly (to 13 per cent) if the UN were not involved.
Latest UN figures estimated that 7,500 civilians have been killed by Syrian security forces since the revolt against President Assad’s government started a year ago, with another 2,000 refugees currently seeking to flee across the border into Lebanon.
Twenty-two per cent of our panel said they were “very concerned” that the ongoing violence in Syria could lead to wider disruption across the region, while a further 47 per cent admitted to being “somewhat concerned”. More than two thirds of respondents (68 per cent) said they were worried the situation would affect energy supplies to the UK, with half (50 per cent) saying they were “very concerned”.
Despite a new draft UN Security Council resolution last week demanding access for humanitarian aid workers in besieged Syrian towns , the Red Cross has repeatedly been stopped from entering the Baba Amr area of Homs city.