UN to meet on humanitarian crisis in Syrian town of Madaya

Pro-government news organizations alleged that the photos are fake, or that opposition fighters inside the town have hoarded the food for themselves.

It has been reported that people may be dying from starvation in the town, and photographers at the scene have captured images of clearly malnourished children.

Pictures of the emaciated kids of Madaya triggered alarm in several capitals and created greater impetus however in addition they triggered a war of words.

“International humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians”, the United Nations points out.

“The Syrian government has demanded our support against terrorism and we, anyway, stood alongside (President Bashar) Assad, who enjoys his people’s support”, he said.

On Monday, eight global aid agencies called for all parties in the Syrian conflict to end the sieges of civilian areas and ensure permanent access to humanitarian supplies.

She asked the Government to demand answers from the United Nations on why they hadn’t “pushed the envelope” hard enough to gain access, when they have clear permission to do so under United Nations resolution 2165.

The BBC has an in-depth report on the aid delivery to Madaya with its senior global correspondent Lyse Doucet reporting from the Lebanese-Syrian border.

The television channel of Hezbollah, which is fighting in Syria alongside president Bashar al-Assad’s forces, reported that 40 trucks were expected to enter the northern villages, with another 40 headed to Madaya.

Reports of widespread malnutrition have emerged, some of them suggesting that Madaya residents are resorting to eating grass and insects for survival.

Supporters of Hizballah and the Syrian regime are taunting trapped starving residents of Madaya by posting pictures of food on social media. The sources in Beirut says some 20 lorries have entered and food will be distributed by the aid agencies through the nighttime.

“Of the areas under siege, 52 are under Assad control, two under rebel control and one under the control of Isis”.

The Britain-based branch of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said that five people in Madaya, including a 9-year-old boy, died of starvation on Sunday.

In Madaya, Al-Manar showed a group of people including women and children waiting for the convoys at the town’s main entrance.

Hezbollah and its supporters, however, blamed the rebels for Madaya’s plight, contending that opposition gunmen had in effect held the town hostage, barring the departure of residents and hoarding supplies from October, when the last aid shipment entered Madaya.

Ghosn, who spoke to journalists accompanied by government officials, also blamed rebels in Madaya, saying: “Their depots are full while we go hungry”.

But what happens after the food is gone?

The trucks in Madaya were carrying humanitarian aid including food and health supplies, blankets, materials for shelters and soap, said United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Anas Maarawi, a media activist in Idlib, told Al Jazeera that four trucks arrived to the towns on Monday.

She said: “To relieve the suffering of these tens of thousands of people, there has to be regular access to these areas”.

The simultaneous aid deliveries are part of an agreement between worldwide aid groups and the Syrian government.