CNN: Starving Syrian town: How did Madaya get so desperate?
“Help has finally reached the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, and experienced aid workers were reduced to tears by what they saw when they arrived. Children stood around trucks in freezing weather, ‘so polite and civilized, asking if we had a biscuit,’ a United Nations aid worker said. ‘The children we met are fed once a day with hot water and spices. Malnutrition is everywhere,’ the aid worker said…” (Walsh, 1/12).

U.N. News Centre: Syria: U.N. officials give first-hand accounts of ‘horrible, terrible’ desperation in besieged towns
“As United Nations officials gave on-site accounts of the ‘horrible and terrible’ situation in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, from 400 critically ill people facing death without immediate medical care to a kilo of rice costing $300, the first emergency evacuation took place [Tuesday] — a five-year-old girl rushed through pro-government roadblocks for urgent surgery in Damascus…” (1/12).

Wall Street Journal: Aid Workers Describe Grim Scene in Besieged Syrian Town
“…Clinics and field hospitals were out of medicine, children were too hungry to play, and many new mothers were unable to produce milk as a result of malnutrition, workers traveling with the United Nations and other international organizations said…” (Abdulrahim, 1/12).

Washington Post: Surrounded by suffering, death in a besieged Syrian town
“…A deal brokered between President Bashar al-Assad’s government and the United Nations permitted aid groups to send ­dozens of trucks to [Madaya], near the Lebanese border and about 15 miles northwest of Syria’s capital, ­Damascus. The operation is expected to last several days and will also deliver food to two pro-government villages, Fua and ­Kefraya…” (Naylor/Haidamous, 1/12).