--- description: Using starvation as a weapon during conflict constitutes a war crime, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned warring parties in Syria. title: U.N. Chief Warns Syria Starvation Is a War Crime image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt819544d7eef0cd5b/69887952bc6cfc6e393db432/gettyimages-504960700.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Syria](/tag/syria/) ## Syria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.N. Chief Warns Syria That Starvation Is a War Crime by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 15, 2016 9:30 AM CUT  Residents of the besieged rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya wait for a convoy of aid from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on Jan. 14, 2016 Residents of the besieged rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya wait for a convoy of aid from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on Jan. 14, 2016Louai Beshara—AFP/Getty Images by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 15, 2016 9:30 AM CUT Using starvation as a weapon during conflict is a war crime, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [warned](http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53003#.VphiGVN95UM "undefined") warring parties in Syria on Thursday, calling the ongoing sieges “utterly unconscionable.” All sides in the nearly six-year conflict are guilty of acts prohibited by international humanitarian law, Ban said according to a U.N. statement. These warning came just days after the Syrian Government allowed aid into the three besieged towns. U.N. humanitarian teams who entered the rebel-held town of [Madaya](http://time.com/4176268/madaya-syria-siege-aid-convoy/ "undefined") on Monday described seeing “elderly and children, men and women, who were little more than skin and bones.” But the citizens of Madaya are just some of the 400,000 people the U.N. estimates are living behind blockades. “I would say they are being held hostage, but it is even worse,” Ban said. “Hostages get fed.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4182021/syria-conflict-starvation-un-war-crime-madaya/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4182021/syria-conflict-starvation-un-war-crime-madaya/"},"headline":"U.N. Chief Warns Syria That Starvation Is a War Crime","datePublished":"2016-01-15T09:30:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:09:39.596Z","description":"“I would say they are being held hostage, but it is even worse. Hostages get fed.”","url":"https://time.com/4182021/syria-conflict-starvation-un-war-crime-madaya/","keywords":["Syria","conflict","UN"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt819544d7eef0cd5b/69887952bc6cfc6e393db432/gettyimages-504960700.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt819544d7eef0cd5b/69887952bc6cfc6e393db432/gettyimages-504960700.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SYRIA-CONFLICT-AID","caption":"SYRIA-CONFLICT-AID","creditText":"Louai Beshara—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4182021/syria-conflict-starvation-un-war-crime-madaya/","name":"U.N. Chief Warns Syria That Starvation Is a War Crime"}}]}] ```