Syrians in a town under siege are posting heartbreaking videos of children they say are dying of starvation.
The Medical Authority of Madaya released two dramatic videos of ill children earlier this week which have since been shared extensively on social media.
One shows a boy, his ribcage clearly visible on his emaciated chest, smiling weakly and telling the camera operator he hasn鈥檛 eaten in seven days. The other shows an emaciated baby in a diaper, with dark circles under his eyes, crying out in distress.
(Warning: Some may find the videos below distressing)
賴賳丕丕丕丕丕 賲囟丕賷丕 胤賮賱 賱賲 賷鬲賳丕賵賱 丕賱胤毓丕賲 賲賳匕 丕爻亘賵毓 丨爻亘賷 丕賱賱賴 賵賳毓賲 丕賱賵賰賷賱 丕賷賳 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 丕賱賵賱賷 賵丕賱爻賷丿 丿賷 賲爻鬲賵乇丕........
Posted by 鈥庘�� on Wednesday, 6 January 2016
Residents of the town, which lies near the border with Lebanon, have been under siege since July, 2015. Local activists say they have faced months of food shortages ever since.
One resident told BBC News earlier this week that residents had been eating grass and leaves, but as winter takes hold, have now begun to eat earth.
At least 25 checkpoints prevent anyone from leaving the town, a local official named Samir Ali recently told The Associated Press. The last time the town received any food aid was in an air drop in October.
Ali told AP that the cost of food in the town has soared, with a kilogram of crushed wheat selling for about $250 and 900 grams of powdered milk for infants going for about $300.
丕賷囟丕 賴賳丕丕丕 賲囟丕賷丕 丨賷孬 丕賱噩賵毓 賷賮鬲賰 亘丕賱賰亘丕乇 賵丕賱氐睾丕乇 胤賮賱 爻亘毓賴 丕卮賴乇 賱賲 賷鬲賳丕賵賱 丕賱丨賱賷亘 丕賵丕賷 卮賷 賷丐賰賱 賲賳匕 丕賷丕賲 賷丕丕丕丕丕乇亘 丕乇賮毓賵丕 丕賷丿賷賰賲 丕賱賶 丕賱賱賴 賵丕丿毓賵丕 賱丕賴賱賰賲 賮賷 賲囟丕賷丕 丕賱賲丨丕氐乇賴
Posted by 鈥庘�� on Wednesday, 6 January 2016
Conditions are worsening because of the winter and the lack of fuel for heating. He said people have taken to removing interior doors in their homes and burning them for heat, and he recently heard of a group of people who killed a dog to eat it.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group, told AP that, of the 23 deaths in Madaya in recent weeks, 10 could be attributed to a lack of food. The rest were from mine explosions and shootings.
On Thursday, UN's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria announced that the Syrian government had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance into Madaya, as well as two other beleaguered villages of Foua and Kfarya in the country's north.
Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, said the humanitarian aid will bring 鈥渧ery, very limited relief鈥� at this point.
鈥淪ome babies will have milk tonight, maybe for the first time in many, many days, but the fact is, this is too little, definitely too late,鈥� Moustafa told CTV鈥檚 News Channel on Thursday. 鈥淎nd we don鈥檛 see an actual opening for a humanitarian corridor for this aid to come in regularly.鈥�
Moustafa said that the 鈥渁bsolutely horrendous鈥� situation is not isolated to Madaya, as populations in other Syrian cities and provinces that are under siege are subjected to starvation as a 鈥渨eapon of war.鈥�
鈥淭his has been the life for hundreds of thousands of people that have done nothing but tried to survive as civilians, and unfortunately, the international community has turned a blind eye to this,鈥� Moustafa said.
鈥淚n this day and age, in 2016, this is something we, as a world, should be united to prevent.鈥�
