Second aid convoy sets off for besieged Syrian town of Madaya

Aid trucks were finally allowed into the besieged town of Madaya on Monday. Credit: Reuters/Omar Sanadiki

At least 50 aid trucks have reportedly left Damascus with food and medical supplies for the besieged Syrian town of Madaya - the second convoy sent to the area after help was allowed in on Monday.

Madaya, a former mountain resort near the Lebanon border, has been under siege for months by forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad, and before Monday the last supplies sent to the town arrived in mid-October last year.

Local doctors said hundreds of people had starved to death and the United Nations has called for around 400 people to be urgently evacuated from Madaya to receive medical treatment.

Aid convoys are also said to be heading to the villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Idlib, which are besieged by rebels.