The World Postsyria refugees Syria warsyria crisis

In Parts of Syria, Lack of Assistance 'Is a Catastrophe'

In Parts of Syria, Lack of Assistance 'Is a Catastrophe'
By 

Contributor

In this Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 photo, Syrian refugee girls carry over their heads buckets of water as they walk at Atmeh refugee camp, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, Syria. This rebel-controlled camp only yards from the border with Turkey houses some 16,000 people displaced by the civil war. But the U.N. and other major aid agencies best equipped to handle such a large-scale relief agency cannot reach them because they are inside Syria. That leaves the job to smaller organizations who can only provide a fraction of the needs. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
In this Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 photo, Syrian refugee girls carry over their heads buckets of water as they walk at Atmeh refugee camp, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, Syria. This rebel-controlled camp only yards from the border with Turkey houses some 16,000 people displaced by the civil war. But the U.N. and other major aid agencies best equipped to handle such a large-scale relief agency cannot reach them because they are inside Syria. That leaves the job to smaller organizations who can only provide a fraction of the needs. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

SAWRAN, Syria — The United States and other international donors are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on humanitarian aid for Syrians afflicted by the civil war. But here in the rebel-controlled north, where the deprivation is most acute, that money has bought mostly anger and resentment: the vast majority of aid is going to territory controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, and the small amount reaching opposition-held areas is all but invisible.

Rebels argue that the humanitarian assistance is in effect helping Mr. Assad survive the war of attrition. “Aid is a weapon,” said Omar Baylasani, a rebel commander from Idlib, speaking during a visit to a Turkish border town. “Food supply is the winning card in the hands of the regime.”

Read more on The New York Times

Related

syria refugees Syria warsyria crisisSyria aidsyria humanitarian crisis
|
Submit a tip

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot