Syrian government to let aid convoys into city where starvation deaths reported

The United Nations said Thursday that the Syrian government would let aid convoys into the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, where there are reports that dozens of people have died of starvation. Aid groups have not been able to confirm the images of skeletally thin children and adults in Madaya, a besieged town of 40,000 northwest of the capital, Damascus. The aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres says 23 have died since Dec. 1, but some activists put the death toll as high as 41. Access to the town has been cut off by Syrian troops and allies, causing food shortages and driving up prices. Opposition groups have said inaction by world powers and aid groups has made them "complicit in starving civilians."

International outrage has mounted as people have been posting messages and videos to social media, begging for help. In one that has yet to be verified, a man says: "What did we do? What did we do?" he cries. "My children, they're dying. Bring guns, bring angels, but God, help us." In another, an 8-year-old boy says he has not eaten in 10 days. The U.N. said its World Food Program, or WFP, was working with the International Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to send enough food to sustain 40,000 people — roughly the population of Madaya — for one month. No firm date for the aid deliveries has been set, but the convoy is due to leave within days. Aid will be allowed to reach two other cities — Foah and Kefraya — that also are facing humanitarian crises due to the country's civil war.

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