The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

4,000,000 civilians pay the price for the humanitarian organizations’ corruption in Idlib

The main role of the so-called “Salvation Government” is supposed to be the reduce of burdens over the displaced people throughout the areas it dominates, by providing services and working on establishing camps and distributing basic necessities through its institutions affiliated to the so-called “Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs”. However, the growing corruption within the Salvation Government’s institutions helped in turning it away from fulfilling their duty towards civilians there.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored that the Salvation Government and all of these institutions did nothing but imposing taxes, controlling commercial lines and crossings, and smuggling.

They also struck deals with the humanitarian organizations that exploit people’s sufferings and tragedies. SOHR sources have confirmed that the Salvation Government’s institutions have authority over the organizations and associations that receive financial support for establishing charitable projects and camps, so that they could seize all support for their favor.

SOHR reliable sources confirmed that a humanitarian organization operating in NW Syria had plans to establish a camp in the “abandoned local playground” in Idlib city, but the Salvation Government imposed itself responsible for the project. In fact, the project cost the Salvation Government nothing.

The administration in charge of IDP camps in north of Idlib, assigned by the Salvation Government, forced the supporting organizations to distribute relief items only under its supervision, and to allocate a portion of this support for the administration, like in shelter centers west of “Maarrat Masrin” town where HTS members take for free a portion of bread allocated for displaced people, to be sent to fighters on the frontlines, as they claim.

Also it is forbidden for any media activist to film or take photos in the camp except when he obtain a written approval.

Waves of displacement are considered sources of income for the “Salvation Government” and local councils affiliated to it. Sources have confirmed that the administration of these councils, with the help of the organizations’ relief officials, list fake names and print IDs of unknown figures, as displaced people from the southern countryside of Idlib, so that they could share supports sent for these false people.

One of the locals confirmed to the SOHR that he saw the administration of local councils in northern areas, dispatching portions of food sent for displaced people to their friends and relatives as gifts, after falsifying the places of displacement. At the same time, the real displaced people can not get any of this support under the pretext of having their papers incomplete and not in conformity with the standards and conditions of distributing this support.

Locals expressed resentment towards the distribution of little portions of relief items in the towns of North Syria under the name of “emergency”, which only contains few tins of chickpeas and beans that values 2,500 SYL. Also a bundle of bread reached 300 SYL after the “Salvation Government” raised its price. Meanwhile the daily salaries of officials who are in charge of distributing the relief items reaches 50 USD.