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1st LD: Syria gov't agrees to allow aid into besieged town

Xinhua, January 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Syrian government has agreed to allow in aid convoys to the besieged town of Madaya north of the capital Damascus, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported on Thursday.

Citing the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Abdul-Rahman al-Attar, the report said the government has agreed to allow aid convoys to enter Madaya, which has been besieged by government troops for more than six months.

According to al-Attar, aid and foodstuffs will enter rebel-held Madaya simultaneously with aid to the besieged towns of Kafraya and Foa, which have been suffocated by the rebels in the western countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib.

Over 300 Red Crescent volunteers are ready to deliver aid to Madaya, said al-Attar.

More than 40,000 people are trapped in Madaya due to the government siege which is similar to what the rebels in Idlib have done to Kafraya and Foa, two Shiite towns loyal to the government.

Apparently, the rebels besieging Kafraya and Foa have agreed for the entry of food convoy to the two towns, which pushed the government to allow the entry of aid to Madaya.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has called for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach those in need.

"We are particularly concerned about the plight of nearly 400,000 people besieged by parties to the conflict in locations such as Deir Ezzor province in Eastern Syria city, Daraya, Foa and Kafraya, as well as besieged areas of East Ghouta in Damascus," according to a UN statement.

Last year, only 10 percent of all requests for UN inter-agency convoys to reach hard-to-reach and besieged areas were approved and delivered, said the statement.

It added almost 42,000 people remaining in Madaya are at risk of further hunger and starvation.

The United Nations has received credible reports of people dying from starvation or being killed while trying to leave, said the statement.

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 ongoing conflict continues to hamper the humanitarian response, while freedom of movement is restricted by the presence of armed actors and landmines.

Madaya last received a joint UN/Red Crescent/Red Cross convoy last October and medical evacuations in December, "but has been inaccessible since then despite numerous requests for access. "

"The UN welcomes today's approval from the government of Syria to access Madaya, Foa and Kefraya, and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days," the statement said. Endit