More Aid Heads to Syrian Town; Doubts Cast on Jan. 25 Talks

NEAR MADAYA – Aid was sent on Thursday to a Syrian town blockaded by pro-government forces and two villages besieged by rebels for the second time this week, and a U.N. official said he hoped to make more deliveries to areas where people are starving.
Dozens of trucks left Damascus for the town of Madaya at the Lebanese border, Reuters reported, and the two villages of Kefraya and al-Foua in rebel-held Idlib province. Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the areas for months.
A senior U.N. official accompanying the convoy said he hoped for smooth operation, though bad weather may delay the delivery to Kefraya and al-Foua. “We hope that with the facilitation and the agreement between the parties to this agreement that this effort will continue,” Yacoub El Hillo, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said.
A second U.N. official said starving civilians to death was a war crime whose perpetrators should be prosecuted.
“We condemn any such act, starving civilians is a war crime under international humanitarian law and of course any such act deserves to be condemned, whether it’s in Madaya or Idlib,” said U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid bin Ra’ad.
“Should there be prosecutions? Of course. At the very least there should be accountability for these crimes.”
The siege of Madaya, where people have reportedly died of starvation, has become a focal issue for Syrian opposition groups who want all such blockades lifted before they enter negotiations with the government planned for Jan. 25.
A prominent member of the political opposition to President Bashar al-Assad told Reuters that date was unrealistic, reiterating opposition demands for the lifting of sieges, a ceasefire and a release of detainees before negotiations.
“I personally do not think Jan. 25 is a realistic date for when it will be possible to remove all obstacles facing the negotiations,” George Sabra told Reuters by telephone.
A total of 45 trucks carrying food and medical supplies are due to be delivered to Madaya, and 18 to al-Foua and Kefraya on Thursday, aid officials said.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had recorded 27 deaths in Madaya from malnutrition and a lack of medical supplies, and at least 13 deaths in al-Foua and Kefraya due to a lack of medical supplies.
The population of Madaya is estimated at 40,000, while about
20,000 live in al-Foua and Kefraya.
The World Food Programme said it would deliver 120 tonnes of wheat flour to Madaya, and 60 tonnes to al-Foua and Kefraya. A U.N. official said the convoy also included medical supplies, blankets, and clothing. The World Health Organization is awaiting an answer from the government to a request to send medics and mobile clinics, its representative in Damascus said.
“The scenes we witnessed in Madaya were truly heartbreaking,” said Marianne Gasser, the most senior official with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria.
“The conditions are some of the worst that I have witnessed in my five years in the country. This cannot go on,” she said.