A vet and one anaesthesiologist are the only professionals offering medical aid to hundreds of starving Syrians in the besieged town of Madaya, according to a Maltese humanitarian worker.

Karl Schembri, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Regional Media Adviser to the Middle East, told the Times of Malta the tense situation in Syria was putting innocent lives at risk.

Images of starving residents of Madaya have dominated the international headlines in recent weeks as regime forces and Hezbollah blocked off the town as part of a raging conflict.

Speaking from the neighbouring Jordanian capital of Amman, Mr Schembri said Madaya was only one of at least 15 Syrian towns under strict siege.

“We are talking about 2016 and people are dying of starvation in a country where this used to be inconceivable. In less than three months 50 people have either starved to death or died of other medical complications as a result of the siege and a lack of basic care which they are entitled to,” he said.

Mr Schembri said that while recent news reports had focused on one glimmer of hope – the provision of aid through convoys - these were not a solution.

“This is definitely not sustainable. The siege needs to be lifted.  This is now a question of war crime and starvation is being used as a weapon of war against civilians,” he said.