Hundreds 'on brink of death' in Madaya need urgent evacuation

Around 400 people must be urgently evacuated from Madaya to receive medical care, UN ambassadors said on Monday, after an aid convoy delivered the first supplies in months to the besieged Syrian town, The Telegraph said Tuesday.

The United Nations has asked the Syrian government to allow the 400 Syrians to be airlifted out of Madaya, where medical charity MSF says 28 people have starved to death since December 1.

"They need medical evacuation on an urgent basis tonight and they want permission from the government of Syria to lift those people out," said New Zealand's Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen.

The UN Security Council was meeting behind closed doors to discuss the situation in the besieged areas.

UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien told the 15-member council that the 400 Syrians were "in a very critical situation," Spanish Ambassador Roman Oyarzun told reporters.

"If they are not evacuated tonight, the situation will be more than dramatic tomorrow," he said.

Source: MENA