Syrian government allows aid into rebel-held, blockaded village

The UN has said that the Syrian government has agreed to allow aid efforts to reach the sieged rebel-held village of Madaya, near capital Damascus international media report.

Reports emerged recently that people in the village were starving to death, with aid agencies insisting the situation is ‘extremely dire’, according to the BBC.

According to reports, the village has been under siege by the government and its Lebanese Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement since early July, and the UN has received reports of people dying of starvation, or being killed ad they try to flee the village.

According to the BBC, the UN said it was planning to deliver humanitarian assistance ‘in the coming days’ and that it had also asked for permission for access into rebel held Kefraya and Foah.

The BBC adds that the siege of Madaya worsened in retaliation to the siege in the two aforementioned villages, with aid agencies not reaching the village since October, and thus leading villagers to try and survive on insects and plants.

Up to 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need, the report adds.

The BBC further reports that the cost of basic goods has also surged, with 1kg of crushed wheat selling for as much as $250 and 900g of powdered formula for babies going for about $300.

The UN has cautioned that international humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians, and also the starvation of civilians as a tactic of war.