Several refugees, including children, have starved to death in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus after Assad’s regime blocked food, water and medical supplies to rebel-held areas. WARNING: Graphic content.
While residents of Yarmouk claimed that 46 people have died of starvation, hunger-related illnesses and lack of medical aid since October 2013, the UN confirmed 15 deaths. A UN spokesman said restricted access made it impossible to know the actual toll.
Jordanian and Palestinian demonstrators showed support for Palestinian refugees under siege in the Yarmouk camp during a solidarity sit-in front of the Red Cross offices in Amman on Jan. 4.
Muhammad Hamed / Reuters
Several extremely disturbing images of starved children and the emaciated elderly in Yarmouk are being circulated on social media. Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad's regime have blocked the supply of food and water to the rebel-held area of Yarmouk.
Residents are finding it increasingly difficult to forage for food in already-inhospitable conditions. This year-long blockade by Syrian authorities reflects Assad's broader government policy of starving out opposition areas as Syria's tragic conflict continues.
AFP / Getty Images
"There are no more people in Yarmouk, only skeletons with yellow skin," Umm Hassan, a 27-year-old mother of two children, told the Associated Press.
Hassan told the AP that her 3-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son were rapidly losing weight without food.
"Children are crying from hunger. The hospital has no medicine. People are just dying," she added.
Muhammad Hamed / Reuters
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