At least a quarter of a million children are at risk of starvation in conflict-ridden Syria and are “waiting for their turn to die”, charitable organisation Save the Children has said. A report they released on Wednesday said children here have no choice but to eat boiled leaves and animal feed, with many of them dying from poison from scavenged food, malnutrition and dehydration. President and CEO of Save the Children US Carolyn Miles said, “Children are dying from lack of food and medicine in parts of Syria just a few kilometres from warehouses that are piled high with aid supplies.”
According to the United Nations, around 4,86,700 people in 18 areas in the country are under siege by either government or opposition forces, but aid agencies claim the number may be higher. These places have no access to food, medicines or fuel, and deliveries from the few aid convoys that could reach 1,50,000 people have been irregular. These convoys can only transport supplies enough to last a few weeks, with no guarantees of when the next delivery can be made.
Save the Children interviewed 126 residents, a third of whom said they often go without a single meal a day. A quarter of them said children were dying of starvation, the report added. “Families interviewed for this report spoke of sick babies dying at checkpoints, vets treating humans and children forced to eat animal feed as they cower in basements from airstrikes,” Miles said.
Official peace talks are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee are yet to confirm its participation. Despite the ceasefire, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 40 civilians were killed in fights in the past two days.
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