British troops may be deployed to Syrian border: British Chief of General Staff

ISTANBUL

British Chief of General Staff Gen. Sir David Richards. Hürriyet photo

British troops could be deployed around Syria's borders in the event of a worsening humanitarian crisis, British Chief of General Staff Gen. Sir David Richards said Nov. 10 as reported by the Independent.

"The main thing for now that we [the U.K.] are all focusing on is to contain the crisis so that it doesn't spill over into countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey," Richards said.

"Obviously we develop contingency plans to look at all these things. It is my job to make sure that these options are continually brushed over to make sure that we can deliver them and they are credible," he continued.

Richards' remarks were reportedly interpreted as raising the specter of U.K. involvement in another conflict at a time when the West is trying to extract itself from an 11-year war in Afghanistan.