️🇸🇾🇺🇳 - Displaced Alawite families in Syria have accused aid organizations, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), of diverting UN humanitarian aid to armed groups and militias allegedly involved in sectarian attacks against their communities, THE JERUSALEM POST.
Several families displaced by the March 2025 coastal violence told The Jerusalem Post that they were denied aid at SARC distribution centers, where armed men and people dressed in Syrian General Security uniforms allegedly accused them of ties to the former Assad regime. They claimed that aid intended for Alawite families was instead distributed to local Bedouin communities and people allegedly linked to the militias.
️ The families also claimed that their names were removed from the lists of aid recipients and replaced with the names of militia members or people associated with the SARC team. One displaced woman said her family had filed several complaints with UNHCR but received no assistance.
A second survivor, who was shot while fleeing the violence in Latakia, claimed that armed groups looted humanitarian supplies after aid distribution events and said that his uncle was killed while trying to collect aid from the United Nations. He also accused the militias of looting and burning houses and destroying agricultural land.
️ UNHCR said that its aid in Syria is distributed according to assessed humanitarian needs and established eligibility criteria, regardless of religious or ethnic background. The agency said aid recipients are identified through household assessments, verification procedures, monitoring visits and feedback mechanisms. She added that allegations of misconduct involving her staff or related entities can be reported to the Office of the Inspector General. ️ The accusations come amid ongoing concerns about violence against religious and ethnic minorities in Syria. A UN investigative team previously concluded that war crimes were likely committed by members of Provisional Government forces and other parties during the March 2025 massacres on the beaches, in which about 1,400 people, mostly Alevi civilians, were killed.