The first trucks of aid entered the besieged Syrian town of Madaya on Monday, where more than two dozen people have reportedly starved to death, as the UN called for hundreds to be evacuated for medical treatment.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said 44 trucks loaded with food and other aid entered the rebel-held town late afternoon, while 21 other trucks went to the government-controlled towns of Fuaa and Kafraya.
Tearful women and children, bundled up against the cold, waited in the dark for the trucks bringing vital supplies after six months encircled by regime forces.
“Our children are starving, our bodies are trembling,” resident Ghaitha Assad said. “We have no food — even bread. There is no water, no electricity, no heating. Our children cry all night, we are unable to find anything to feed them.”
The UN World Food Program said the supplies could feed more than 40,000 people for one month, and the International Committtee of the Red Cross said it was taking enough medicine for three months.
“I saw a young man killing cats and presenting the meat to members of his family as rabbit,” said Hiba Abdel Rahman, 17. “Some people went through garbage bins, others ate grass. We sought food from the fighters, but they refused to give it to us.”
Twenty-eight people have died of starvation in the city since Dec. 1, including five on Sunday alone, according to Doctors Without Borders.
The UN said it has asked the Syrian regime and opposition to allow 400 people, many starved and malnourished, to be airlifted out of Madaya for urgent medical attention.
“Around 400 are in need of being evacuated for life-saving medical attention,” UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien told reporters after a Security Council meeting. “They are in grave peril of losing their lives.”
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