DAMASCUS, Syria — The Syrian mountain town of Madaya, which has been under siege by the regime and Lebanon's Hezbollah for 2½ months, is running out of food and supplies, and the humanitarian situation is worsening as the town is targeted with barrel bombs and flooded with civilians displaced from nearby Zabadani.

Madaya is about 25 miles northwest of the capital, Damascus, and borders Zabadani city from the southeast. Madaya's original population of 20,000 has doubled to 40,000 with the forced displacement of residents mostly from Zabadani. Some speculate the Syrian regime is taking revenge on Madaya's residents and the people displaced there because of their support for the revolution.

The regime, however, has said militants from Zabadani also are fleeing to Madaya.

Ibtihal Youssef, a civil activist in Madaya, confirmed that the humanitarian situation is very difficult. She told Al-Monitor, “Relief organizations Eithar and Wafaa distribute aid to civilians who turned school buildings into shelters, but the suffocating siege led to the depletion of the food aid. We even slaughtered the town’s sheep and cows to distribute meat to the people.”