Millions of Syrians at risk of starvation as UN warns not to use ‘food as a weapon of war’
THE number of starving Syrians could top one million following dozens of militant sieges across the country, new figures suggest.
Millions of Syrians are at risk of starvation
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon warned “the use of food as a weapon of war is a war crime”.
Siege Watch, a study of populations living under blockade, claims 49 out of 52 besieged areas in the war-torn country are surrounded by troops loyal to autocrat president Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
Two more areas have been cut off by rebel fighters participating in the civil war.
The remaining area is encircled by savage ISIS fighters.
Ban Ki-Moon has warned against using food as a weapon
Reports have emerged of more than 70 deaths by starvation in Madaya, an opposition enclave near the Labanese border.
Syria: Red Cross negotiators arrive in Madaya ahead of aid convoy
The UN has sent in a second convo, of aid trucks, carrying flour and other basic essentials, to the desperate area.
Residents reportedly wept with relief when the aid trucks arrived.
A second UN aid convoy has arrived in Madaya
But critics have described a just “crumbs” in the face of the regime’s brutal treatment of its civilians.
UN officials previously claimed the suffering in Madaya was worse than anything else seen in Syria since the start of the bloody war.
Other aid groups say more than 560 people have died as a result.