Outgoing UK PM Cameron praises Kurdish forces, considers using hospital to help Kurds

QAMISHLI – In his final appearance before the UK parliament as Prime Minister, David Cameron on Wednesday praised the Kurds in Iraq and Syria for being ‘incredibly brave fighters’, and said that he will look into providing beds in the Birmingham hospital to help seriously injured Kurdish fighters.

Conservative MP Jack Lopresti praised the support Cameron gave to the Kurds. “My right hon. Friend’s lasting legacy will include supporting the Kurds whose Peshmerga are bravely fighting Daesh [ISIS] in all our interests,” Lopresti said.

“Having visited the Peshmerga on the frontline, I know that our airstrikes, weapons and training are crucial, but Peshmerga injuries could be reduced with additional equipment such as body armour, respirators and front-line medical facilities, and we possibly could provide some beds in our specialist hospital in Birmingham to the most seriously injured,” he said.

The Conservative MP therefore asked if the outgoing PM could consider providing beds to seriously injured Peshmerga forces, as a ‘relatively small investment that would make a huge difference to our allies in our common fight to defeat the evil of terrorism’.

“He is absolutely right that the Kurds are incredibly brave fighters and are doing valuable work against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. I will look carefully at his suggestion of using the Birmingham hospital,” outgoing PM Cameron said.

“The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has excellent facilities for battlefield casualties. Our Army is already providing medical instruction to the Peshmerga to help them deal with the situation, but we will look to see whether more can be done,” he added.

According to the outgoing UK PM, the strategy against ISIS is working.

“[ISIS] it has lost 45% of the territory that it once held in Iraq; its finances have been hit; more than 25,000 Daesh fighters have now been killed; desertion has increased; and the flow of foreign fighters has fallen by 90%. I have always said that this will take a long time to work in Iraq and Syria, but we must stick at it and we must stay the course,” he concluded.

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Source: ARA News

Kurdish female fighters of the YPJ joining the fight against ISIS north Raqqa. Photo: ARA News