Besieged Syrians Are Desperate For Help

The suffering of civilians living under siege in Syria was graphically brought to the world's attention this week when a series of shocking and heartbreaking images were released of a malnourished baby. She was born in a suburb of Damascus controlled by the opposition and she later died of starvation, weighing less than 2kg.

About 3.5 million people are besieged or living in hard-to-each parts of the country, the majority of which are encircled by military forces loyal to the Assad regime. UN data shows that aid organizations are struggling to reach people in these parts of Syria in order to provide vital humanitarian assistance. In September, for example, only 8.1 percent of people in besieged areas were reached. Doctors are warning that food shortages are becoming severe, leading to increasing numbers of malnutrition cases with mothers unable to breastfeed their babies due to their own state malnourishment.