Starving Syrian teen died ‘in front of our eyes — United Nations agency

A number of deaths had previously been reported among residents of the town, who were left trapped and starving for months by armed supporters of the Syrian government and their allies Hezbollah. “Madaya has children, but they do not look like they normally would”.

The staff also screened 10 children aged 6 to 18 – and six of those children showed signs of severe malnutrition, Singer said. And, in front of their eyes, Ali died. The U.N. says around 15 municipalities are under siege in Syria, in contravention of global law.

“The people we met in Madaya were exhausted and extremely frail. What we saw in Madaya should not happen anywhere in this century; it should not have happened now”.

The starvation here is no act of God – not the result of drought or flooding or crop failure.

“This atrocious situation is deliberate and man-made”. And it is drawing global condemnation.

Speaking in NY on Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the scenes in Madaya represent “shocking depths of inhumanity”.

A mobile clinic with medics was dispatched to treat people suffering from malnutrition, the World Health Organization said, a day after a second aid convoy reached the town.

Ban said, “In 2014, the United Nations and partners were able to deliver food to about 5 per cent of people in besieged areas”.

“This is utterly unconscionable”, Ban said at a news conference.

A convoy of trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies are seen heading to the besieged town of Madaya, some 24 kilometers in southwest Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 for distribution as part of a large-scale U.N.-sponsored aid operation in the war-ravaged country.

Burhan stressed that the people of Madaya are waiting “anxiously” for the rest of the trucks to enter as they are carrying flour.

“We now meet the families to talk about their needs”, he said on Twitter.

The town of Madaya has been under siege for months by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On Monday, Madaya, which has a population of around 40,000, received its first relief supplies since October.

Aid officials hoped to bring in more supplies, with fuel deliveries set for Sunday, according to Stillhart. Britain’s mission said the meeting was requested for Friday afternoon, but it has not yet been scheduled.

Unicef has said clinics in Madaya are poorly equipped and medical staff are “emotionally distressed and mentally strained”. Some of these groups are backed by the West. The almost five-year-long civil war has created a massive humanitarian disaster, a refugee crisis that has long-term political implications for Syria’s neighbors, and a massive influx of migrants to Europe. Among the rebels are the terrorist group ISIS.

The Syrian government and the United Nations have championed localised ceasefire deals as a way to end fighting across Syria, where more than 260,000 people have been killed since 2011. Islamic State militants have used the chaos to seize territory in Syria and Iraq, and some 4.3 million Syrians have fled the country.

In a clear reference to Russia, Wilson said “let Council members with ties to the regime use their influence, and not their air force, to address this horrific situation”.