Aid convoys could enter Syrian rebel-held town soon

A Syrian opposition figure said on Saturday that aid convoys could be allowed into a besieged town north of the capital Damascus, where people are said to have been starving to death, as soon as Sunday.

The town of Madaya has been under the government troops' siege for six months, Muhammad Abu al-Qassem, head of the al-Tadamun, or Solidarity, Party, told Xinhua by phone.

As many as 40,000 civilians and 200 rebels are trapped in the rebel-held town of Madaya.

The siege aims to push the rebels to ease their siege of the two Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa in the western countryside of the north-western province of Idlib and allow in aid.

The entry of the convoys to Madaya was conditioned to the rebels' acceptance to allow humanitarian aid into the two besieged towns, loyal to the government.

Much of Foa and Kafraya are under the control of the Jaish al-Fateh rebel group.

Both towns have been suffering suffocating siege since March of last year as well as constant shelling and repeated attacks, during which over 600 people were killed.

In recent weeks, the rebels in the city of Zabadani, which is adjacent to Madaya, reached a deal with the government to evacuate the city, amid talks in which the rebels in Madaya were to be involved in a similar deal.

Last month, tens of wounded rebels were evacuated amid talks that the government would loosen its imposed siege on Zabadani.

Recently, photos showing famished people from Madaya with extreme sickness were published by the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on the Internet.

As a result of the siege, Madaya has been suffering from a severe shortage of medical supplies and food since last August, causing the spread of diseases and hunger, Abu al-Qassem said.

People are being poisoned from eating tree leafs, garbage, and even stray cats and dogs, reports said.

During the past six months, 52 people died as result of the siege, of whom six of hunger.

Reports said some "crisis merchants" are selling basic foodstuff in imaginary prices, such as one kg of white wheat for 155 U.S. dollars and one kg of rice for 120 dollars, Abu al-Qassem revealed. Endit