UN warns on starving of children in Syria's Damascus suburb

Children in an embattled rebel stronghold near Damascus are suffering one of the worst health crises of the Syrian war, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Sunday.

In the suburb of Eastern Ghouta, nearly 12 per cent of children below the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, the highest recorded rate since the conflict broke out in 2011.

The area has been under siege by Syrian government forces for four years.

The UN agency demanded that 137 sick children be allowed to leave the area rapidly to get help for conditions including kidney failure, starvation and war injuries.

Five children with urgent medical needs have already died because they could not leave the besieged area.

"The situation is getting worse day by day," said Fran Equiza, UNICEF's representative in Syria.

"Sick children desperately need medical evacuation, and many thousands more are being denied the chance of a normal, peaceful childhood," he was quoted as saying by UNICEF.

In Eastern Ghouta, a total of 400,000 people have been largely cut off from humanitarian aid since 2013.

In recent weeks, government forces have stepped up attacks on Eastern Ghouta in an attempt to expel opposition fighters from the region.