Parts Of Syria Are Now Facing Famine And Mass Starvation

The Guardian: Madaya: residents of besieged Syrian town say they are being starved to death

Activists in the mountain town, where 30,000 people have been trapped since July, speak of families eating leaves to survive

Residents of a Syrian town a few dozen miles from the capital, Damascus, say they are dying of starvation as a result of a months-long siege by forces loyal to the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Families are eating leaves, grasses and water flavoured with spices in the town of Madaya, where rice is sold by the gram because a kilogram costs as much as $250 (£170). Some have killed and eaten their pets.

WNU Editor: The images are truly heartbreaking.

More News On Parts Of Syria Facing Starvation

UN calls for humanitarian access to besieged areas in Syria, welcomes new approvals from Government -- UN News Centre
Syria Agrees to Food Aid for Starving Rebel-Held Town, U.N. Says -- NYT
People in a besieged Syrian town are dying of hunger -- Washington Post
Madaya: Syria allows aid to reach city facing starvation, says U.N. -- CNN
Syria government to allow aid into starving town: UN -- AFP
UN says Syrian government allows access to besieged Madaya -- RTE
Syrian regime to allow aid into besieged, starving town -- The Guardian
Humanitarians granted access to Syrian towns under six-month government siege -- UPI
Images of starvation as UN aid allowed into Syrian towns -- AP
UN: Syria Agrees to Relief Aid for 3 Besieged Towns -- VOA
Up to 200,000 people face starvation in besieged Syrian towns, UN warns -- ITV News
Thousands of people are at risk of starvation in this besieged Syrian town -- Mashable

Is The Rebel 'Syrian Free Army' Finished?

Free Syrian Army fighters (Reuters/Muzaffar Salman) / Reuters

Mona Alami, US News and World Report/Al-Monitor: Can the Free Syrian Army Get Back on Its Feet?

The Free Syrian Army has been demoralized by Russia's involvement in the Syrian civil war

Nearly three months have passed since the Russian offensive in Syria began Sept. 30. The Russian intervention first targeted rebel strongholds in northern Syria and is now focusing on the Sheikh Maskin area in the south. Experts say the Free Syrian Army took the brunt of the onslaught.

According to a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War, Russia's involvement in the Syrian civil war has shifted the battlefield momentum in favor of President Bashar al-Assad. It reads, "In Aleppo province, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and associated proxy forces launched a multipronged offensive on Oct. 15 that has seized large swaths of rebel-held terrain in the southern countryside of Aleppo City."

Update: US-Backed Syrian Rebel Group on Verge of Collapse (Stars and Stripes)

WNU Editor: The FSA never got the support that they needed .... and they will probably not get it in the future. But the fact that the FASA has been a persistent force after all of this time is a surprise .... but time is against them.