85,000 children under five have 'starved to death' in Yemen's war

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, Save the Children's Yemen director, said: "For every child killed by bombs and bullets, dozens are starving to death and it's entirely preventable," adding that "children who die in this way suffer immensely."

The war and a Saudi-led blockade have created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 8 million people at risk of starvation.

According to the UN children's agency (UNICEF), more than half of the 14 million people on the edge of famine are children.

More than 22 million people - three quarters of the population - now depend on humanitarian assistance to survive.

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Yemenis struggling to survive such conditions are also confronted with a collapsed economy, leaving civil servants and teachers without pay for months.

UNICEF estimates that some 4.5 million children in Yemen risk losing access to state schools, as teachers have not been paid in nearly two years.

More than 2,500 schools have been damaged or destroyed, and others are now used as shelters for displaced people or as bases run by armed groups.

The war has left an estimated 10,000 people dead since 2015 and triggered what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

However, human rights groups say the real death toll may be five times higher.

Agencies contributed to this report.