Over 70 aid groups say UN allows Syria to manipulate relief

UNITED NATIONS -- More than 70 humanitarian organizations are accusing the United Nations of allowing the Syrian government to manipulate relief efforts and deprive thousands in besieged areas of help.

In a letter to the U.N. humanitarian office in Turkey, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the aid groups working in Syria and neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey announced they are suspending participation in an information-sharing program aimed at improving aid delivery. This is "a first step in response to the political influence of the Syrian government and the inaction of U.N. agencies and other humanitarian actors based in Damascus," the letter said.

The 73 groups, which said they provide humanitarian assistance to over 7 million Syrians, including over 6 million in the country, also called for an investigation into criticism in the media of the U.N. performance in Damascus.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reported last week the U.N. has awarded contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to people closely associated with President Bashar Assad, including groups set up by his wife, Asma, and cousin, Rami Makhlouf, who is one of Syria's most prominent businessmen.

"The Syrian government has interfered with the delivery of humanitarian assistance in multiple instances, including the blocking of aid to besieged areas," the aid groups said. "This deliberate manipulation by the Syrian government and the complacency of the U.N. have played hand-in-hand. The people of Syria have suffered even more as a result."