Hundreds of Lebanese block road over Syria's Madaya siege

Hundreds of Lebanese demonstrators on Friday blocked the road near the Masnaa border crossing in east Lebanon to protest the humanitarian crisis in a besieged town on the Syrian border.

People rallied, despite the rain, to express frustration with the humanitarian crisis in the town of Madaya, which is being besieged by pro-government forces, Daily Star Lebanon reported.

The demonstrators held bread, footage and photos of people allegedly from Madaya who appear to be dangerously malnourished, the same pictures have been circulating on social media networks. However, most of those photos have been revealed as fabricated or from different conflicts.

Protesters also held the flags of the Free Syrian Army.
“How dare they (pro-government forces) give us a lesson in morals while they are starving our families in Madaya,” a sheikh said.

He criticized the international community for failing to make a move to end what he called a “humanitarian crisis.”

“How can they besiege families and kids. They can do whatever they want with gunmen but the families are innocent,” the sheikh said.

The UN said in a statement Thursday that it was preparing to deliver humanitarian aid to Madaya in the coming days, as well as to two Shiite towns in the province of Idlib under rebel siege.

Source: MENA