As the conflict in Syria enters its seventh grueling year, Physicians for Human Rights calls attention to the Syrian government’s continued practice of deliberately and illegally manipulating UN humanitarian access to millions of people trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas of the country. By arbitrarily limiting, restricting, and denying aid deliveries, Syrian authorities are purposely subjecting vast numbers of civilians to profound suffering, and to slow, painful deaths by starvation and lack of medical care.
In the case of Madaya – where 40,000 residents have been trapped by government forces since July 2015 – deprivation of food, medical aid, and other vital necessities has resulted in widespread preventable deaths and needless suffering from untreated effects of malnutrition, chronic health conditions, infectious diseases, and traumatic injuries.
To end this misery, the Syrian government and all other parties to the conflict must lift all sieges and ensure that UN and nongovernmental humanitarian agencies can immediately carry out unhindered and sustained humanitarian aid deliveries to all in need through the most direct routes.