Médecins Sans Frontières is calling for the immediate evacuation of almost two dozen people from the Syrian town of Madaya.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked the Syrian government for permission to send mobile clinics and medical teams to the besieged town of Madaya to assess the extent of malnutrition and evacuate the worst cases, its representative said.

Siege and starvation have left the rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya in a nightmarish state not seen elsewhere in the country, a UN official has said.

Trucks carrying food and medicine have entered a besieged Syrian town near the Lebanese border as part of a large-scale UN-supported aid operation in the country.