Member of the Syrian Coalition Suheir Atassi called for lifting the sieges the Assad regime and its allies are imposing on rebel-held areas and for the urgent introduction of medical and food aid to civilians in need, especially in the town of Madaya in western Rural Damascus.
Atassi also called for the opening of humanitarian corridors and the safe evacuation of the wounded and sick from the besieged areas. She said that at least 25 people with acute renal failure in Madaya need to be urgently evacuated, warning that five of these people are dying.
Atassi said the UN failed to lift the sieges; open humanitarian corridors; and deliver humanitarian aid to civilians in need in line with the UN Security Council resolutions. She stressed that the bloodshed in Syria at the hands of the Assad regime and its allies requires more than expressions of sympathy. She said using the Russian veto as an excuse not to take action to end the bloodshed is not acceptable.
Activists on Thursday said that the humanitarian situation in the town of Madaya continues to deteriorate due to the lack of food and medical supplies. The last aid shipment entered the town a month ago.
Medical staff in Madaya on Thursday said that they were suspending medical work in the town and in the nearby town of Baqqin because of the lack of equipment and medicines as a result of the blockade imposed by regime forces and the Hezbollah militia on the area.
Medics in Madaya said that the Assad regime and the Hezbollah militia have prevented the UN agencies, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the Red Cross from evacuating any patients, including the most urgent cases. They called for the establishment of a center for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in the town of Madaya to be equipped with medical supplies and the necessary equipment and staff. They also called for an urgent introduction of medicines, vaccines, and medicines for chronic diseases.
In addition to the blockade imposed on the town, civilians trapped in Madaya have also been subjected to shelling and sniping by regime forces. Two civilians were killed in the past two days in the town by the regime’s shelling. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
