U.N.: Hundreds of thousands “at risk”

beirut » Hundreds of thousands of people across Syria in areas besieged by government forces and opposition fighters are at risk of starvation andworsening malnutrition, U.N. officials, aid workers and activists warn.

The warring parties are cutting off food and medicine to more than a dozen areas, causing civilians to die and complicating renewed peace efforts to end the country’s civil war. Disturbing images on social media purporting to show emaciatedmen, women and children in the town of Madaya, which has been blockaded by government forces, has in recent weeks added urgency to the issue.

“As the conflict goes on and on, the situation on the ground is collapsing, especially in areas that are under siege,” said Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the International Committee of theRed Cross.

Even before Madaya, sieges were common in the Syrianwar, which has led to more than 250,000 deaths, displaced millions and generated a humanitarian catastrophe. But the tactic appears to be increasingly applied as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, wage a newoffensive against rebel groups.

The grim consequences are manifesting in the vitamin-deficient mothers in blockaded areas who increasingly struggle to breast-feed, U.N. officials and aid workers warn. A growing number of sick, elderly and young, they say, appear to be succumbing to otherwise preventable illnesses. In some places, such as Madaya, people have starved to death, aid agencies say.

“We’re starving to death, women and children. We have no food,” said Dani Qappani, an activist inMoadamiyeh, an oppositionheld town that is besieged by government forces.