Famine Amid Syrian Unrest Is Merely 'The Tip Of An Iceberg,' Amnesty International Director Says

by M.R. Aguilar / Jan 13, 2016 11:43 AM EST

A convoy of international organizations has made its way to the city of Madaya to provide food for the war-stricken community. (Photo by Abdurahman Sayed / Getty Images)

International rights group Amnesty International unveiled accounts of people in Syria struggling with famine in the city of Madaya. The community is reportedly trying to survive merely on boiled water and leaves, an evidence of ongoing "catastrophe of larger proportions" according to a report by CNN.

According to Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa director for Amnesty International, the harrowing accounts of hunger in Syria represent "the tip of an iceberg". "Syrians are suffering and dying across the country because starvation is being used as a weapon of war by both the Syrian government and armed groups," Luther added.

WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said that help is on the way in a few days as the U.N. World Food Programme, along with International Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent in a convoy, is set to deliver goods to aid over 40,000 people for a month. However, an aid worker stationed in Madaya told CNN that this assistance will be sent hopefully not later Monday.

Syria, a nation that has been shaken since 2011 by one of today's most brutal civil wars have had over hundreds of thousands of people are tortured and brutally killed and its major cities gone to rubble. These catastrophes point to the regime of Bashar al-Assad as well the prominent jihadist group, ISIS. And it appears today that people are starving, due to the tactics of both sides related to warfare and all for the pursuit of power according to Vice.

According to a resident of Madaya named Louay, the last time he had a full meal was at least a month and a half ago. "Now, I mainly have water with leaves. Winter is here and the trees no longer have leaves, so I am not sure how we will survive," Louay lamented on their situation.

The starving situation of people in Madaya is said to be dire; while food is available, people can't afford it.

In a statement by United Nations last week, they had received "credible reports" of people starving to death. The U.N. also said that the Syrian government now allows aid convoys in the following Syrian cities: Madaya, Foah and Kefraya.

Activists and concerned citizens have already stepped up and raised awareness to such crisis on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. In a scoop by CNN, Activist Sham Abdullah told the network that 41 people had died already so far out of starvation, as seen on the images posted on Twitter by activists and other residents on site.