Syrian Government Agrees to Aid Cities at Risk of Mass Death

The Syrian government has agreed to send food and humanitarian aid to cities whose residents are at risk of dying from hunger due to military siege. Yacoub al-Hillo, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Syria, stated on Thursday, January 7, that the organization welcomes the Syrian government's decision to send aid. The aid is expected to be sent to these areas in the coming days. The Associated Press reported that the two Shiite cities of Foua and Kefraya have been under siege by opposition rebels for about a year, while the Sunni city of Madaya has been under government control since summer. Published images show that children in Madaya have resorted to eating tree leaves. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has reported that in the past 40 days, at least 23 people have died from hunger in just one of these cities. Images shared on social media and websites show that some people and children in Madaya have become almost skeletal from starvation. Mr. al-Hillo stated that 42,000 people in this city are at risk of dying from hunger. Approximately 30,000 lives are also at risk in Foua and Kefraya. The United Nations is seriously concerned about around 400,000 other Syrian citizens who are besieged in cities like Deir ez-Zor and around Damascus. As a result of the civil war and political crisis in Syria over the past five years, more than 260,000 people have been killed, hundreds of thousands injured, and millions displaced.