BEIRUT: The main opposition, Syrian National Council (SNC) said on Thursday that it had received $40.4 million in international aid since it was set up a year ago, half of which came from Libya.

Libya contributed $20.4 million, followed by $15 million from Qatar and $5 million from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The SNC said that $29.7 million of the funds raised since it was founded in Oct 2011 had been spent, with 89 per cent used for rescue operations and aid for different parts of the conflict-torn country and refugees in neighbouring states.

The remaining 11 per cent financed administrative services and communications, the group said in a statement which for the first time detailed the international aid it had received.

As violence escalated throughout Syria, the United States (US) had accused the SNC of failing to unite the resistance against President Bashar al-Assad beyond a small group of Syrian exiles.