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UN hired Assad allies and relatives for relief organisations

Documents leaked to Guardian said 64 percent of kits and medicine provided by the WHO had been delivered to government areas
Trucks carrying aid are seen on the side of the road in the town of Orum al-Kubra on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo (AFP)

The United Nations hired scores of friends and relatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for relief operations in Syria, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

The documents show that relatives of high-ranking ministers in the Assad government have been on the payroll of various Syria-based organisations such UNHCR and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A former UN manager told the Guardian that every UN agency in Syria had at least “one person who is a direct relative of a Syrian official”.

The UN requested that the staff not be named so as to ensure their safety.

The document said that 64 percent of kits and medicine provided by the WHO since the beginning of the year had been delivered to areas supporting or held by pro-Assad forces.

The Syria Campaign, a pro-opposition advocacy group, said it was “utterly unconscionable that [a UN] agency dedicated to supporting refugees would employ close relatives of Assad’s inner circle”.

The UN has repeatedly pointed out that its actions are restrained by the Assad government which it says it has to work with in order to operate in the country.

In response to the Guardian article, the UN denied that the links with Assad affected its impartiality and said its staff needed to reflect the "fabric of Syrian society".

The revelations come as eastern Aleppo continues to suffer under siege from Russian and Syrian jets and allied forces on the ground.

No aid has entered Aleppo since 7 July and UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned food rations will run out by the end of the month.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the conflict that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests and has since killed over 300,000 people.

Aleppo has been divided between government control in the west and rebel control in the east since mid-2012, and in September the army announced an operation to recapture the whole city.

The assault, backed by Russian forces, has killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed infrastructure including hospitals, prompting international outrage.

The UN's aid chief Stephen O'Brien this week said Aleppo had become "a kill zone", adding that "nothing is actually happening to stop the war, stop the suffering."

Since last week, Russia has implemented a "humanitarian truce" and bombing pause intended to allow civilians and surrendering rebels to exit the east through passages to western neighbourhoods.

But few left, and a UN plan to evacuate the wounded failed because security could not be guaranteed.

Russia says it has not bombed Aleppo since 18 October, and accuses rebel groups of preventing civilians from leaving.

On Friday, Syria's foreign minister was in Moscow meeting with his counterparts from key allies Russia and Iran.

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