A second aid convoy is on the way to the besieged Syrian city of Madaya, where numerous people are reportedly starving, according to a U.N. source in the convoy.
The new convoy is made up of about 50 trucks carrying wheat flour, medicine, blankets and winter clothes, the source said early Thursday. The source said the convoy hopes to reach Madaya shortly.
A simultaneous delivery is taking place in the cities of Fua and Kafraya, as well, according to the source. Madaya is a rebel-held town being besieged by government forces; Fua and Kafraya are held by the government and besieged by rebels.
No plans to evacuate the starving
The UN source said there were no plans to evacuate from Madaya the 400 residents whom UN officials had said needed treatment urgently. Instead, those cases will be treated by doctors and nutritionists traveling with the convoy, the source said.
The first shipment of foreign aid since October 2015 reached Madaya on Monday, Its arrival moved starving residents to tears.
Syria’s civil war, which pits the brutal regime of President Bashar al-Assad against rebels who can be equally as brutal. Among the rebels are the terrorist group ISIS.
The civil war is nearing the five-year mark. More than 250,000 Syrians — largely civilians — have been killed, according to the United Nations. About 10.5 million Syrians have fled their homes — and more than 4 million of those have left the country, playing a large part in Europe’s migrant crisis.
