Relief for starving Syrian town

El HillotoldReutersthat are least 400,000 Syrians live in besiegedareas, half of whom are in IslamicState-controlledareas in the northernprovince of Deir Zor and the restmainly in rebel-heldareas in southernsuburbs of the capital, Damascus.

“We hope to follow up the food deliveries with further deliveries of medical supplies and blankets later this week as part of a coordinated operation into the besieged areas”, he added.

But O’Brien, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said all the evidence the United Nations has shows there has been very severe malnourishment, severe food shortages, and reports of people “who are either starving or indeed have starved and died”.

Mr van Bohemen said he had spoken to the leader of the first aid convoy into Madaya.

On Monday, a convoy of 44 trucks loaded with food, baby formula, blankets and other supplies entered Madaya.

On Monday, aid workers described seeing crowds of hungry children: “It’s heartbreaking to see so many hungry people”, Sajjad Malik, a representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria, said. Activists have reported several deaths from starvation over the past weeks in the affected areas, and images of starvation have been circulated across social media.

The situation has been so dire that a doctor told CNN he has nothing to give his patients except sugar or salt water.

Reports of widespread malnutrition have also emerged, suggesting that the residents have resorted to eating grass and insects for survival.

Partner agencies are providing food and medicine through the convoys organised by the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

“I think that you are all aware that we are talking about 400,000 people living under besieged areas in Syria”.

Simultaneously, aid lorries entered two towns besieged by rebel forces in the northern province of Idlib under a deal between the warring parties.

“The humanitarian crisis in Madaya is but one more sign of the Assad regime’s brutality throughout Syria”, the US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said in a statement. It has been under siege by government forces and Hezbollah fighters since July. “I call on the global community to help end this siege and help the people of Madaya”, he said.

“The Syrian government is not and will not exert any policy of starvation on its own people”, he said, adding the “terrorists are stealing humanitarian assistance”. “On the contrary: We sent plenty of convoys and we asked the U.N.to send more”. The U.N. said its vehicles were not used to take anyone out of Madaya.

He updated them on preparations for the talks, and as did when he visited Saudi Arabia last week, obtained assurances that current tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia would not affect the engagement of their government in supporting the Geneva talks.

Hizbullah responded to accusations it was starving people in Madaya by denying there had been any deaths in the town, and accusing rebel leaders of preventing people from leaving.

The Syrian civil war has been raging for almost five years and has claimed more than a quarter million lives. “A kilogram of rice cost $250”, a local resident told RT. But in Madaya, the price soars to $300 a liter. “There is no food, no light, no heating with low temperatures”, Malik said a day after visiting the city.