Up to 40,000 people in the besieged Syrian settlement of Madaya have been forced to turn to leaves and flower petals to stay alive after eating all of the town's stray dogs and cats.
Photographs and videos taken inside the former holiday resort show the corpses of men, women and children who have died of starvation as the siege enters its sixth month.
As the Syrian winter grips the city, electricity is in short supply and food sources almost non-existent.
Soldiers loyal to Syria’s embattled president Bashar al-Assad and members of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah continue to surround the city, cutting off fresh supplies of food and drink and preventing citizens from escaping by filling the surrounding countryside with landmines.
One image shared on Facebook appears to show a desperate citizen preparing to slit the throat of a cat while other photos show malnourished children eating a broth made of olive tree leaves and water.
“There are no more cats or dogs alive in the town. Even tree leaves that we have been eating have become scarce,” local resident Abu Abdul Rahman explained to media.
“Describing the situation as tragic is merely airbrushing reality on the ground,” he added.
