Syria welcomes UN aid to besieged towns as children eat grass to survive

London: The Syrian Government has approved the United Nations bid for aid deliveries to three besieged towns in the country where children eat grass to survive.

The move comes after a breakthrough in talks that took place in Geneva between the Syrian Government and the opposition.

Hundreds of civilians are facing severe malnutrition in Madaya, Foua and Kfarya, with some having tragically starved to death.

A spokesman for Doctors without Borders said on Friday that 16 people have died in Madaya since the relief convoys began arriving on January 12, the Daily Express reports.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN`s Secretary General, has branded the deliberate starvation of civilians as "war crime".

He urged both the Syrian government and rebels to end the sieges before peace talks started.

However, the main opposition coalition kept up its demand for humanitarian aid to the needy at the Geneva talks yesterday.