UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday that the use of starvation as a weapon in the Syrian war was a war crime after aid workers were able to deliver food to residents in famine-struck Madaya.

"Let me be clear: the use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime," Ban told reporters.

Meanwhile, France, Britain and the United States on Thursday requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to demand the lifting of sieges in Syria and allow aid deliveries to civilians facing starvation, the French ambassador said.

The meeting expected to be held on Friday "will draw the world's attention to the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding in Madaya and in other towns in Syria," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told AFP.

*The story was edited by Ahram Online.