UK aid to Syria halted as Islamists make ‘terror tax’ profit on trucks

BRITAIN has halted aid to rebel-held parts of Syria over concern extremists are profiting from shipments through a “terror tax”.

The UK suspended deliveries to the Syrian opposition stronghold of Idlib last week following reports an Islamist group was imposing levies on trucks at the Turkish border.

Hayat Tahrir al-sham, a militant group with links to al-qaeda and sanctioned by the UN, controls much of the northwestern province of Idlib including the main Bab al-hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey.

Most of the UK’S aid to Syria goes through Bab al-hawa. Other crossings are not affected.

The Department for International Development (DFID) made the decision in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and The Daily Telegraph understands neither will resume deliveries until they receive assurances from Hayat Tahrir al-sham it will no longer tax the trucks.

“Our partners will immediately cease all use of the Bab al-hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey under Usaid-funded awards,” a spokesman for the agency said.

“A sanctioned terrorist group is likely incurring financial benefits from Syrian trucks accessing the Bab alhawa border crossing.” The DFID declined to comment. One British aid worker who spoke to the Telegraph described the levies as “terror taxes” that could severely complicate operations in the area.

Islamist rebels tax between 5-7,000 trucks a month entering Syria from Turkey, according to one assessment that estimated they raise around £2.8 million a month this way.

The Salvation Government – the civilian arm of Hayat Tahrir al-sham – said in a statement that they would no longer tax trucks carrying aid and claimed the money raised had only been used to repair and maintain roads used by the vehicles.

Idlib is home to some three million people, many of whom are civilians displaced by fighting elsewhere in the country. The vast majority are dependant on aid and would be adversely affected by any longer term pause.

However, concerns over where aid is going has risen since Hayat Tahrir alsham and other extremist groups seized control province.

The UK announced in August that it was to end its non-humanitarian assistance in the country, admitting that the situation on the ground had become “increasingly difficult”. Around the same time, it pledged millions more in emergency aid in acknowledgement of the desperate situation many still face.

Idlib, the last remaining rebel territory, is bracing for an offensive by Syrian and allied Russian forces. of large parts of the