In 2016 Sir Mark Lyall Grant, National Security Adviser, stated the three countries on which most was spent were Afghanistan (£90 million), Syria (£60 million) and Somalia (£32 million), and that the fund had projects in more than 40 countries.[12] A major spending area is related to the Syrian Civil War,[2][13] including hiring private contractors to deliver "strategic communications and media operations support to the Syrian moderate armed opposition" – described as essentially running the "Free Syrian Army press office".[14] The Stabilisation Unit interdepartmental agency is funded by the CSSF.[15]