In Syria, when a regime official calls the local Red Crescent chapter and asks for food rations, local aid workers cannot deny this request even if it is taken from the people’s share. They have no choice but to yield to orders under the threat of a “security report” that would cost them their freedom and perhaps even their lives.

The names of all aid beneficiaries are similarly handed over to security services in the face of threats and intimidation. In many cases, regime officials pressure families benefiting from aid into giving information about rebels and activists as a precondition for allowing aid deliveries to continue. This is especially true for those displaced from rebel areas to regime-controlled districts.

Frequently, relief supplies are sold at cheap prices to people who are loyal to the regime. In some cases, the contents of Red Crescent vehicles are confiscated by people collaborating with regime barracks, later to be found for sale at the same barracks. [Link]