Up to 200,000 people face starvation in besieged Syrian towns, UN warns

Up to 200,000 people face starvation in besieged towns across Syria, the United Nations has warned.

In one rebel-held town alone, Madaya, around 35,000 people are trapped and have not received supplies since October.

On Thursday, the Syrian government agreed to let food aid trucks into Madaya to help those in need, but by the evening this had still not been possible.

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Greg Barrow, of the UN World Food Programme, told ITV News: "We have trucks on standby with food and other assistance ready to go in to these towns to help these people who are in a desperate situation, we just need safe access and a guarantee that we can get in there and get to the people who are most in need.

"Madaya is a terrible situation but we estimate that there could be in excess of 100,000, maybe up to 200,000 people around the country who are in similar situations to this."

Madaya has been under siege since early July, with new footage emerging of adults and children starving to death. One young man seen said he had not eaten for 10 days and had been poisoned by eating wild herbs he scavenged.