http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/world/middleeast/syria-aid-united-nations.html 2016-09-09 00:08:38 73 Syrian Aid Groups Suspend Cooperation with U.N. The groups said the United Nations had been manipulated by the government so that civilians in opposition-held areas get little or no help. === Seventy-three Syrian aid groups suspended their cooperation with the In a The signers of the letter, including some groups based outside They said the government of President “This deliberate manipulation by the Syrian government and the complacency of the U.N. have played hand-in-hand,” the letter stated. “The people of Syria have suffered ever more as a result.” The signers would reconsider their suspension of cooperation, the letter said, if the information-sharing system for aid distribution were revised so “there is no political influence in any aspect of it.” But they also said: “We have little hope that the U.N.-coordinated humanitarian response might operate independently of the political priorities of the Syrian government.” It was not immediately clear how the suspension of cooperation might affect aid delivery in Syria, which has been hampered by severe government restrictions since the conflict began more than five years ago. Signers of the letter included the Dr. Ahmad Tarakj He also said that under the United Nations information-sharing system, some aid intended for civilians winds up in Syrian military bases. “We think the mechanism is a failure,” he said. Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the There was no immediate comment about the letter from Mr. Assad’s government. United Nations officials in Syria have often complained that Mr. Assad’s government had impeded their aid delivery and repeatedly implored it to allow unobstructed access. But as in other countries where the United Nations provides services, it must operate with the permission of the host governments.