Assad regime tampers with UN funds, loyalists get most

(Zaman Al Wasl)- As a service to its supporters, whose homes have not actually been affected, the regime is using United Nations aid in “damage compensation” and “reconstruction”, leaving the leftovers for the areas that revolted against it, after implementing absurd conditions such as paying electricity and water bills that may exceed the alleged “damage compensation”.

Zaman al-Wasl has obtained documents confirming that the regime is tampering with UN funds and subjecting areas that were outside its control to far-fetched demands, such as presenting real estate documents and clearance receipts from water and electricity companies.

The survey we conducted revealed that 95% of the workers appointed to “compensation committees” are the loyalists of Bashar al-Assad, with most of the requests that received compensation being limited to members of one sect, anyone else had to rely on the intervention and mediation of influential men in the regime.

In northwestern Hama province, except for rebel-held northern countryside, a compensation was provided with about 8 billion SYP ($15,565,000 million), equivalent to all compensations paid to all those affected from the other provinces combined. The documents show that 98% of those compensated are pro-Assad Alawite cest.

Up to the middle of this year, the regime has distributed 18 billion SYP to areas under its control, where 63 thousand of the 240 thousand total applications submitted were compensated for 30% of the value of the damages.

Clearly, the regime's plan was to seize support and relief funds and spend them on loyal soldiers and supporters , under the pretext of humanitarian and relief activities, using the UN General Assembly Resolution No. 46/182, which states that, “humanitarian assistance should be provided with the consent of the affected country and in principle on the basis of an appeal by the affected country.”

It became clear that the goal of the reconstruction committees formed in 2012 is collecting external support funds, as compensation for the dead and wounded of its military, thus relieving the government treasury from such a large burden.

Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighboring countries.