Heartbreak as Syria’s babies are running out of milk in war-ravaged Aleppo with just 5,000 cans of formula left
Many new mothers are unable to produce breast milk because they are so malnourished
BABIES in war torn Aleppo could starve to death as the Syrian city faces a shortage of milk formula.
There are an estimated 5,000 cans of baby feed in the east of the city while malnourished mothers have stopped producing breast milk.
Aleppo has been besieged with airstrikes from both from President Bashara al Assad's forces and Russian jets.
Speaking with Syria Direct, new mother Miriam a-Zain, 38, said she has had to rely on formula to feed her baby, who was born in April.
She said: "Because of the bombings - because of the fear that we face on a daily basis in Aleppo - my milk dried up."
related stories
Human rights charities have been giving cans of formula away for free and supplies have dwindled since the Syrian forces blockade in Aleppo.
Ali Sheikh Omar, President of the Aleppo Relief Commission, said children in the city are in serious risk of malnourishment.
He said: The city is down to its final 5,000 cans of formula
"That’s hardly enough to cover a quarter of the city’s children and for one month at most.”
Around 10,000 infants have been offered substitute formula which is not advised for newborns and could potentially be harmful.
Distraught mum Zain revealed she has been feeding her child with a mixture of water and rice for the last three weeks.
She said: “I feel terrible feeding her this, but it was our last resort.”
Syrian children are being fed everything from cow milk to tea as the crisis continues to escalate.
Some pharmacies are reportedly selling formula for as much as £12 a can.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson called for the West to look at “military options” to halt the massacre in Syria.
The Foreign Secretary revealed US Secretary of State John Kerry and other key allies will fly to London on Sunday for an emergency summit to discuss tough new ways of halting the brutal bombing of Aleppo by Russia and Syria.
Enforcing a no fly zone or no bombing zone with the help of RAF jets will be on the table for the first time.
The bold move has been long called for by peace campaigners, but always ruled out for the last five bloody years of the civil war by outgoing US President Barack Obama.
The development confirms The Sun’s revelations this week that the Foreign Secretary was pushing for a significant escalation in military intervention in Syria.
Mr Johnson told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that the “people of Aleppo are hoping desperately that we and our allies may be able to do something to alleviate their suffering in the face of the barbaric assault of the Syrian regime, and the connivance of Russia and Iran.”
Speaking on Thursday morning Mr Johnson said it is “now right that we should be looking again at the more kinetic options, the more military options” to stop the town being “pulverised”.
But he warned “we have to be more realistic at how this in fact would work and what is deliverable”.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368