Ban Ki-moon calls starving Syrian civilians a war crime

The UN Security Council will hold a special session on Friday (January 15) to examine the situation of residents in besieged cities in Syria.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, described the situation of residents in these cities as deplorable. According to him, the elderly and children, women and men in these cities have been reduced to skin and bones due to famine, and are so weak they cannot even walk.

According to the United Nations, 400,000 Syrian citizens live in besieged cities. Half of this number are residents of cities besieged by the terrorist group “Islamic State” and the other half are residents of cities under siege by Assad forces or opposing armed groups.

Read more: A report on the dire humanitarian situation in Syria

The UN Secretary-General described the results of negotiations over the past two years to provide assistance to residents of these cities as disappointing. According to Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations was able to provide assistance to five percent of the population living in besieged areas in 2014, but this figure has now dropped to less than one percent, which is “absolutely unacceptable”.

The UN Secretary-General stressed: “Deliberately starving people is a war crime. International law has prohibited such atrocious acts.”

“Enable access to humanitarian assistance”

Britain and France, two UN Security Council member states, have called for enabling humanitarian organizations to access besieged areas in Syria.

These two countries, along with the United States, called for a special UN Security Council session on Friday (January 15). The main subject of this session is providing assistance to approximately 400,000 citizens living in besieged areas in Syria.

Britain has asked all countries with influence over the Syrian government, particularly Russia, to use their influence to provide “immediate access for humanitarian organizations to besieged areas”. Russia is one of Bashar al-Assad’s most important allies, the controversial president of Syria.

The situation of people in besieged cities, including in the city of Madaya, has raised serious concern and criticism from the international community.

Madaya is a city near Damascus besieged by Shiite Hezbollah forces.

About 40,000 people live in this city. This number is double the population of Madaya before the start of Syria’s civil war.

Hundreds of this number have been on the brink of death in recent months due to lack of access to food.

Following severe international criticism, the Syrian government allowed on Monday (January 11) the entry of the first convoy of food aid and detergents into the city.

A number of famine-stricken residents of this city are expected to be transferred outside Syria for medical care.

According to the “Doctors Without Borders” relief organization, at least 28 people have died from famine and starvation in Madaya since December.

Relief organizations predict that the situation in several other Syrian cities is similarly dire.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, several humanitarian aid convoys, totaling more than 60 trucks, are heading towards Madaya and other besieged cities in Syria.