"Numerous instances" of diversions to armed groups

The Office of the Inspector General of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has “uncovered numerous instances of possible or confirmed diversions to armed groups" in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, including to Hayat Tahrir al‐Sham, which is a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The explosive USAID report released Nov. 14 oddly holds back on naming the cross-border implementers implicated in these numerous diversions. Turkey houses many of the nongovernmental organizations operating in northern Syria. Delivering aid to besieged populations in conflict zones at times requires compromises among warring parties, the use of local intermediaries, and therefore the increased risk and potential for misdirection of funds. USAID ceased use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing in September because of the tax imposed by Hayat Tahrir al‐Sham on aid convoys.

Khaled al-Khateb reports from the Morek crossing in rural Hama, south of Idlib province, that “the Morek City Council is in charge of that side of the crossing and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a coalition of Islamist factions — provides protection. The Russian military police, in cooperation with the regime’s customs police, supervises administration of the regime’s side.” The Syrian government closed the crossing again Nov. 17.