Syrian Government to Allow Aid Into Madaya, Says U.N.

The Syrian government on Thursday permitted the delivery of emergency aid to three besieged towns including Madaya, AFP reports.

Pictures and video from Madaya show severe levels of malnutrition, and residents of the town say people are starving to death.

“The U.N. welcomes today’s approval from the government of Syria to access Madaya, Fuaa and Kafraya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days,” a U.N. statement said.

The U.N. said there were “credible reports of people dying of starvation” in Madaya, including a 53-year-old man who died on Tuesday.

Access to Madaya and the nearby border town of Zabadani has been restricted by pro-government forces, while the towns of Fuaa and Kafraya are surrounded by rebels.

The towns are part of a landmark deal reached in September to end hostilities in those specific areas in exchange for humanitarian assistance.

The towns received aid in October but have since been inaccessible “despite numerous requests,” according to a statement by the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“When the news broke out, some people fired into the air to celebrate, but most are still waiting to see the food to believe it, because they have been disappointed in the past,” a citizen journalist in Madaya told AFP by phone.

At least 10 people have died in Madaya due to lack of food and medicine, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

De Mistura Arrives in Damascus Ahead of Syria Talks

U.N. envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura arrived in Damascus on Friday to meet with Syria’s foreign minister as part of redoubled efforts to end nearly five years of violence, AFP reports.

De Mistura is set to meet Walid Muallem on Saturday to discuss plans for the first round of negotiations between Bashar al-Assad’s government and opposition figures set for later this month.

Before arriving in the Syrian capital, De Mistura met with opposition representatives in Riyadh to confirm the starting date for the talks and the roster of opposition representatives.

The talks are the first step in an 18-month U.N.-backed timeline aimed at bringing about a political transition in Syria.

The U.N. envoy is also due to visit Iran in the coming days to defuse tensions between Tehran and Riyadh, regional powers who back opposite sides in Syria’s civil war.

According to a U.N. spokesmen, De Mistura “believes that the crisis in Saudi-Iranian relations is a very worrisome development and stresses the need to ensure it does not cause a chain of adverse consequences in the region.”

U.N. ‘Pressure’ Will Prolong War, Rebels Say

A statement released by prominent rebel groups said the Syrian opposition is under pressure “to offer concessions that will prolong the suffering of our people and the spilling of their blood,” Reuters reports.

The statement was published shortly after an opposition council met with U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura in Riyadh to discuss the upcoming talks with Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The council was established last month in Saudi Arabia to oversee future negotiations with the Syrian government, part of a renewed push to end the five-year civil war that has killed 300,000 people.

The statement, which was signed by armed rebel groups including members of the newly formed opposition council, said that Syrian rebels would not accept any concessions that run against “the principles of our revolution,” and condemned international involvement deemed to be “against the revolution.”

Opposition leaders have told De Mistura that before negotiations take place, the Syrian government must take goodwill measures including a release of prisoners, a lifting of blockades on rebel-held areas and a halt in the bombardment of civilian areas.

Recommended Reads

• The Washington Post: Female Activist Killed by the Islamic State Posted This Final Defiant Message
• Al-Jazeera America: Saudi-Iran Crisis Throws Wrench in Syria Peace Talks
• CNN: The Starving of Syria
• The New York Times: As Rebel-Held Town of Madaya Starves, Syria Agrees to Food Aid, U.N. Says
• The Guardian: U.S.-led Airstrikes Against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq – Interactive

Top image: This undated photo posted on the Local Revolutionary Council in Madaya, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows a starving boy in Madaya, Syria. The Syrian government has agreed to allow humanitarian assistance into three beleaguered villages following reports of malnutrition in the area, a U.N. official said Thursday. Two of the villages in question are the adjacent Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in the country’s north, which have been besieged by anti-government militants for more than a year. The third is the village of Madaya near the border with Lebanon, which has been under siege by government forces since early July. (Local Revolutionary Council in Madaya via AP)