Humanitarian arm of Syrian opposition stumbles at audit hurdle

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Auditors have been unable to trace $1 million (613,000 pounds) in aid spending by Syria's Western-backed opposition, highlighting how hard it is to build viable alternatives to the institutions of President Bashar al-Assad's war-torn state.

The Syrian National Coalition set up the ACU as its humanitarian arm to coordinate efforts by a series of non-government organisations, U.N. bodies and local councils to tackle what has become the world's worst humanitarian crisis.