26 February 2016, 18:24 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – More than 450,000 people remain trapped in besieged towns throughout Syria where humanitarian agencies cannot provide them with aid, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Monday.
"Over 450,000 people are currently trapped in besieged towns and villages in Syria – and have been, in some cases, for years," Zeid Ra’ad Hussein said in a statement.
He added that the delivery of food, medicines and other humanitarian aid to people was repeatedly obstructed while thousands risked starving to death.
Since 2011, Syria has been mired in a civil war, with government forces fighting a number of militant groups and opposition factions. According to the United Nations, some 6.6 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict, while an estimated 4.6 million have fled the country.
