Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has abruptly reversed course on his plan to get badly needed medical supplies into Syria by way of a 91原创 aid organization.
Just days after travelling to Jordan to announce some $2 million in aid, Baird confirmed Wednesday that the government will not provide the money to the group known as 91原创 Relief for Syria.
"I have directed officials to change course and to review alternatives to deliver medical supplies to the victims of the Assad regime in Syria," Baird said.
He said concerns about where the money would be going arose after the announcement, when the government sat down with the group to reach a contribution agreement.
"We wanted to ensure that supplies could make their way to the victims of the Assad regime in the best way possible, and that it wouldn't fund things like warehouses and infrastructure," Baird said.
It remains a "top priority" of the federal government to assist the victims of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, whether they be opposition fighters, civilians or others caught in the crossfire, he added.
Momtaz Almoussly, a spokesman for the aid group, expressed shock Wednesday at the sudden about-face, insisting no one said the money would be used for anything but medical supplies and equipment.
Baird's announcement prompted questions about why the relatively new organization received foreign aid when there are more established groups on the ground.
Some media reports have linked the group to a charity with an office in Pakistan that was once run by alleged al-Qaeda financier Ahmed Said Khadr, whose son Omar is currently languishing behind bars in Guantanamo Bay.
Meanwhile, Syrian fighter jets bombed the rebel-held town of Azaz, levelling the better part of a poor neighbourhood and wounding scores of people, many of them women and children buried under piles of rubble.
Activists said more than 20 people were killed.
The attack came on the same day the United Nations released a report accusing Assad's forces and pro-government militiamen of war crimes during a May bloodbath in the village of Houla that killed more than 100 civilians, nearly half of them children.
It said rebels were also responsible for war crimes in at least three other killings.
The long-awaited report by the United Nations Human Rights Council marks the first time the world body has referred to events in Syria as war crimes. -
