A huge protest is expected this afternoon in Manchester as part of an international day of demonstrations. The British Syrian community and supporters will gather in Piccadilly to call upon the British Government to drop food, not bombs, on Syria.

It is one of many protests occurring throughout the world in response to the siege on Madaya in Syria. Residents there have been forced to eat grass and survive on water and salt after Assad regime forces prevented food from entering the area for months.

British Syrians and supporters will be protesting in Manchester Piccadilly, calling upon the UK Government to drop aid parcels upon besieged areas in Syria.

'Instead of dropping bombs on Syria, our RAF can instead do something constructive and help to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of civilians on the ground. Yasmine Nahlawi, Advocacy and Policy Coordinator for Rethink Rebuild Society

Although the regime has temporarily allowed the UN to bring in humanitarian relief supplies into Madaya, it is unclear how long this will last. There are also many areas in Syria that continue to be besieged by regime forces, including Deir Ezzor, Eastern Ghouta, and more. Only 10% of UN aid access requests are granted by the Assad regime.

The protest is taking place at 3pm on Saturday 16th January in Piccadilly Gardens.