Aid trucks reach three besieged Syrian towns

Aid trucks have reached three besieged towns in Syria, while negotiations to evacuate some 400 Syrians on the brink of death are being conducted. 

Aid workers found the 400 Syrians suffering from starvation, malnourishmnt and other illnesses during a visit to a hospital in Madaya, said U.N. Aid Chief Stephen O'Brien.  

"Around 400 are in need of being evacuated for life-saving medical attention," O'Brien told reporters following a closed-door UN Security Council meeting. "They are in grave peril of losing their lives." 

The United Nations has asked the Syrian government and armed groups controlling access the town to allow the 400 Syrians to be transported out of Madaya, he said.

Hours earlier, a convoy of 44 trucks loaded with food, baby formula, blankets and other supplies entered Madaya, which has been under siege by President Bashar al-Assad's forces for six months.

An additional 21 trucks delivered supplies to two other towns besieged by the rebels; Fuaa and Kafraya.
The UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in Madaya where residents told AFP they had resorted to eating grass and killing cats for meat to survive.

Humanitarian groups were negotiating with all sides for the evacuation of 400 people from the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, the Red Cross said on Jan. 12.

The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are now working to evacuate around 400 people in need of urgent care, said ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek.  
"It's a very complicated process that needs permission to realise this humanitarian operation. We are in negotiations with all parties," Krzysiek told AFP.

The suffering in Madaya is the worst seen...