Aid convoys being sent to Syrian civilians caught up in a military conflict are not a solution to the country’s dire situation, a Maltese humanitarian worker has warned.

Karl Schembri, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s re-gional media adviser in the Middle East, told the Times of Malta the tense situation in the country was putting innocent lives at risk.

He was contacted for his reaction to images of starving residents in the Syrian town of Madaya published earlier this month.

Madaya is one of several parts of Syria which have been cut off from food and medical aid as part of the raging conflict between regime forces and the Islamist militant group Hezbollah.

Speaking from the neighbouring Jordanian capital of Amman, Mr Schembri said the situation was unacceptable. “We are talking about 2016 and innocent people are dying of starvation in a country where this used to be unthinkable.

“In less than three months 50 people have starved to death or died of other medical complications as a result of this siege,” he said.

In less than three months 50 people have starved to death

While recent news reports focused on one glimmer of hope – the provision of aid through convoys – Mr Schembri said these were not enough to make a difference.

“This is quickly becoming a question of war crime, and starvation is being used as a weapon of war against civilians who have rights,” he said.

Aid was last week also delivered to other besieged areas, including Fua’a and Kafraya, but Mr Schembri said the dire situation was spilling over to neighbouring countries. The latest migration figures, he said, indicated there were some 650,000 registered refugees in Jordan as a result of the Syrian conflict.

Asked what could be done to resolve the situation, Mr Schembri said in the short run, the Syrian siege and blockades had to be stopped to allow adequate access to aid. In the long term the only solution was political.

“The only way out is not military and not humanitarian. The parties involved in this conflict need to find a solution before more innocent civilians die,” he said.