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UN calls for Madaya evacuation

January 12, 2016

The United Nations (UN) has asked the Syrian government to allow hundreds of people to be evacuated from Madaya. Convoys were sent to deliver aid to the town where people have been starving to death.

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Syrien Madaja Ankunft Hilfskonvoi
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Stringer

The UN said Monday the situation in Madaya was desperate with hundreds of people in need of immediate evacuation. The same day, aid trucks carrying food and medical supplies arrived in the blockaded Syrian town.

UN ambassadors held a closed-door meeting to discuss the situation. According to US Ambassador Samantha Power, over 400 people "are on the brink of death and in need of immediate medical evacuation:"

The UN has reportedly appealed to the regime of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow for their evacuation.

A desperate situation

A convoy of aid trucks arrived in Madaya, Foua and Kfarya on Monday to deliver much-needed supplies like infant formula, blankets and medicine to the desperate people. Yet Power emphasized that more had to be done.

Forty-four trucks entered Madaya carrying one month's worth of food for over 40,000 people. The town has been under siege by Assad's forces for half a year.

"It's really heartbreaking to see the situation of the people," said Red Cross spokesman Pawel Krzysiek. He said a little girl approached him upon his arrival and asked, "Did you bring food?"

The situation has been so desperate that the people have been forced to live off grass and water. There were even reports of hungry people killing and eating cats to stay alive.

A symbol of inhumanity

Madaya has become a flashpoint in the ongoing war in Syria. Rebels point to it as an example of the inhumanity of the Assad regime. At least 10 people have already died of starvation there and images of emaciated residents - including children - have drawn international condemnation.

Karte Syrien Madaja Englisch

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), at least 40,000 lives are at risk. The last time aid was delivered to Madaya was in October.

According to the UN, as many as 4.5 million Syrians are living in besieged areas without access to food and basic necessities.

Civilian casualties of the conflict have also been blamed on Russia, which says it is assisting its close ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, in routing "Islamic State" militants. On Monday, an alleged Russian airstrike at a school in Syria's northern city of Aleppo killed at least 14 children and five adults, including a teacher, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Syrien Hilfskonvoi für Madaja
A UN-led aid convoy enters MadayaImage: Reuters/O. Sanadiki

Syria's UN ambassador has denied the accounts of mass starvation and accused the media - especially Arab television - of spreading lies.

blc/jm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)