Off the wire
• Chicago agricultural commodities mixed  • Oil prices plunge below 30 dollars amid supply glut  • Fire in Chinese warehouse in Rome leaves at least one dead, two injured  • Roundup: U.S. stocks plummet on global rout, diving oil  • Hirvonen takes penultimate Dakar Rally stage  • Rwanda to hold local govt elections in February  • Feature: Exhibition casts light on criminal, deadly world of Shakespeare's theater  • Roundup: Canadian stock market dives as crude oil tumbles  • 1st LD Writethru: Gunshots in Slovak capital leaves two dead  • Latvian ports report 6.2 pct drop in cargo turnover for 2015  
You are here: 　 Home

Severe malnutrition found in children in Syria's Madaya: UN

Xinhua, January 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that cases of severe malnutrition have been found among children in Syria's besieged Madaya town, north of the capital Damascus, said a spokesperson here on Friday.

A fresh aid convoy entered Madaya on Thursday, which is the second batch of aid supplies to be delivered to the hunger-battered and rebel-held area.

UNICEF participated in the second joint humanitarian mission, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding that "the people met in Madaya were exhausted and extremely frail."

Dujarric told a daily briefing that nutritionists from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have conducted a malnutrition assessment, and the Syrian Arab Red Cross (SARC) conducted medical examinations on more than 350 people.

The reports from those organizations would be available soon, he added.

On Monday, aid convoys reached Madaya, and Kafraya, Foah, two pro-government towns under rebel siege.

The recent aid deliveries came after the Syrian government agreed to loosen its siege on Madaya, and the rebels in control of the northwestern province of Idlib agreed to allow aid into Kafraya and Foah.

Warring parties in Syria have resorted to sieges to diminish one another's strength. The tactic successfully forced rebels out of several areas and drove the government into negotiations in other areas, but countless civilians fell victim to the dire consequences of the sieges. Enditem