Saturday, 30 January 2016

Madaya: Starvation kills 16 more

MADAYA: Another 16 people have starved to death in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya since UN aid convoys reached it earlier this month, according to charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.
The charity says there are also 33 people in danger of dying. 
Brice de la Vingne, MSF operations director, said the situation was "totally unacceptable" when people "should have been evacuated weeks ago," according to BBC.
MSF previously said 30 people died of starvation in the town late last year.
Earlier in January, two emergency convoys of food and aid supplies were delivered to Madaya, where up to 40,000 people are believed to be trapped in appalling conditions.
The report comes as talks on ending the Syrian conflict take place in Geneva.
Negotiators representing Syria's main opposition groups were expected to arrive later on Saturday, after earlier boycotting the launch of the peace talks. Aid deliveries to besieged towns is a key demand from opposition groups.
The UN says some 400,000 people are trapped and in need of emergency assistance in 15 locations in Syria as part of sieges imposed by the Syrian government-led coalition, as well as by opposition groups. 
Madaya, in the mountains 25 km north-west of Damascus, has been besieged for six months by government forces and their allies in Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

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