Safieddine: Propaganda Machine behind Madaya Lie, Famine Can't Hit Only 15-20 People
A senior Hizbullah official on Sunday slammed as “blatant lies” reports accusing his party and the Syrian regime of imposing a so-called starvation siege on the Syrian town of Madaya.
“The so-called Madaya issue reflects utter lying, charlatanry, malice and ignorance, seeing as some people do not want to think or to use their brains,” said Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, head of Hizbullah's Executive Council.
“If a famine hits a certain town, it is illogical to imagine that it would only affect 15-20 people without the others. When a famine hits a certain place, it affects the entire spot,” Safieddine added.
“The footage clearly contain blatant lies,” the Hizbullah official went on to say, referring to pictures and videos that have spread on social networking websites in recent days.
He added: “A well-known propaganda machine has fabricated and circulated this lie, supplying a lot of politicians and social networking websites with the needed material.”
Madaya, home to 42,000 people, had last received humanitarian assistance in October but has since been inaccessible "despite numerous requests," according to a statement from the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Reports have recently claimed that Hizbullah has a hand in the Madaya siege, the thing that the party denied in a statement issued on Thursday.
The town has been surrounded by regime troops for six months.
The Syrian government agreed Thursday to allow aid into Madaya as part of a deal that will see aid simultaneously reach 20,000 people trapped in the mainly Shiite Syrian towns of Fuaa and Kafraya.
Aid is expected to arrive into Madaya on Monday, the Red Cross said.
According to Doctors Without Borders, at least 23 people have starved to death since December 1 in the town.
The U.N. Security Council is to discuss the matter behind closed doors on Monday, although no decision is expected.
Y.R.
Source: Naharnet
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