85,000 under-fives ‘starved to death in Yemen war’

Up to 85,000 children under the age of five may have died of hunger and disease since the outbreak of civil war in 2015, an international aid group said today.

Save The Children said the “conservative” estimate is based on average mortality rates for severe acute malnutrition, which the UN says has afflicted more than 1.3 million children since a Saudi-led coalition went to war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels in March 2015.

Tamer Kirolos, the charity’s Yemen director, said: “For every child killed by bombs and bullets, dozens are starving to death and it’s entirely preventable.”

The war and a Saudi-led blockade have put more than eight million people at risk of starvation.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged £390 million in aid to assist them.