![null Protest for Syrians who starved to death](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/gettyimages-503671274.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
The Syrian government will allow humanitarian aid into Madaya where 42,000 people are at risk of hunger and starvation, the U.N. said Thursday in a statement.
If full access is granted, U.N. World Food Programme spokesperson Greg Barrow told the BBC, aid trucks could arrive in Madaya by Monday.
Syrian government forces have blockaded the rebel-controlled town since July 2015 and restricted its access to aid since the last food distribution on Oct. 18. Starvation has killed 23 people since Dec. 1, aid group Médecins Sans Frontières said Thursday in statement.
Aid will also be allowed into Foah and Kefraya, northern towns besieged by rebel forces, the BBC reported.
While welcoming the approval, the U.N. also called for access to towns and cities across Syria. It estimates that about 4.5 million people live in hard-to-reach areas, of which 400,000 are in 15 blockaded locations that urgently need humanitarian assistance.
[BBC]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting
- From 2022: How the Threat of Political Violence Is Transforming America
- ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town
- Remembering Shannen Doherty , the Quintessential Gen X Girl
- How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Sheets?
- Why Mail Theft Is on the Rise
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Mark Rivett-Carnac at mark.rivett-carnac@timeasia.com