Siege of Madaya
In early January 2016, western activist networks started a campaign using old, unrelated images of starving children[1][2][3] drawing attention to around 600 fighters of the "moderate rebel" variety of Ahrar Al-Sham/al-Nusra Front trapped inside the city of Madaya, close to the Lebanese border in mountainous Zabadani district, using the civilian population as human shields. Hezbollah released the following statement on January 8, 2016:
The Truth About Madaya: From Today's UK Column News Video interview with activist Vanessa Beeley relates some similar points.
According to some reports, German public TV producer Westdeutscher Rundfunk invited the "rebels" to relocate to their headquarters near Silvester square in Cologne (satire).
On January 11th, 14th and 19th, aid convoys reached both the cities of Madaya and the "rebel"-besieged Kefraya and Foua in Idlib province in a deal between government and "rebels".[4][5]
See also ACLOS analysis of previous claims of mass starvation in rebel-administered areas:
Sources
- Чудовищная ложь западных и арабских СМИ о Сирии: трупы, изувеченные дети и голод в Мадайя (ФОТО), "The monstrous lie of Western and Arab media about Syria: corpses, mutilated children and hunger Madayya" (PHOTO), Rusvesna google translation
- Analyzing Madaya’s Starvation Falsification, Paul Antonopoulos, Al Masdar News, January 10, 2016
- Madaya: West Engineer Another ‘Humanitarian’ Media Hoax in Syria, 21st Century Wire, January 11, 2016
- MADAYA: TIMES OF LONDON LIGHTS MATCH TO PROPAGANDA FIRE?, Vanessa Beeley, January 12, 2016
The creator of #Madaya_is_starving, one of the first and most potent of the twitter hashtags to flood twitter feeds was none other than Raed Bourhan, who describes himself as a fixer & “researcher” for the London Times, allegedly based in Zabadani. On the 5th January he offered his services to journalists wanting to cover the Madaya story. He later disseminated the now iconic image of the cat with a knife being held to its throat about to be sacrificed to feed the starving of Madaya. [...]
- Madaya: 'Horrifying conditions' in besieged Syrian town, BBC , January 12, 2016 , different photos
- France, USA, UK call for an urgent UNSC meeting to discuss the besieged Syrian cities. This was reported by the AFP news agency, citing diplomatic sources. TASS, January 14, 2016
- Red Cross disputes Bild claims starving Madaya residents are ‘pro-govt actors’, RT, January 18, 2016
References
- ↑ Examples from German public TV: [1] [2] Propagandaschau, January 8/9, 2016
- ↑ 'Starving Syria child' revealed as south Lebanon girl, Daily Star Lebanon, January 9, 2016
- ↑ Madaya: BBC caught recycling footage from Yarmouk, Vanessa Beeley, January 11, 2016
- ↑ Aid convoys simultaneously enter Syrian besieged towns, Al Masdar News, January 14, 2016
- ↑ Aid convoys reach Madaya and three other besieged towns, Middle East Eye, January 19, 2016