ALMOST EIGHTY PER cent of Irish people say the Government should not support military intervention in Syria without a UN mandate according to a new poll.

The poll carried out by Red C was commissioned by the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) and also showed that an almost identical number of Irish adults believe that Ireland should have a policy of military neutrality.

The 1,000 respondents were given a number of different options as to what extent they agreed with a variety of statements with Red C using the information to gauge sentiment.

The research found that 79 per cent of Irish people agreed that the country “should not support a war on Syria without a UN mandate”. Only 22 per cent surveyed supported sending arms to anti-Assad forces.

Neutrality

When asked whether ‘Ireland should have a policy of neutrality’ there was 78 per cent agreement. 61 per cent said that Irish troops should not now be sent to Syria.

PANA Chairman Roger Cole said that the poll results show that support for neutrality is now “deepening rather than weakening.”

“Approximately 8 in 10 Irish people are now in favour of neutrality which is roughly the same number of people who believe Ireland should not support a war on Syria without a UN mandate. This Syrian conflict has displaced millions with the UN describing it as the worst humanitarian crisis in nearly twenty years,” he said.

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