Over seven million children face a serious threat of famine in Yemen and ending the country’s war will not save all of them, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said.

Talking to reporters in Hodeida yesterday, regional director of UNICEF Geert Cappelaere said, more than half of the 14 million people at serious risk of famine in the impoverished country are children.

He emphasised the need to stop the war and to create a government mechanism that puts the people and children at the centre. He welcomed a call by the UN to relaunch peace talks within a month.

Saudi Arabia and its allies entered the war to bolster Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Iran-backed  Huthi rebels took over the capital Sanaa.

UN has reported that Since 2015, more than 10,000 people have been killed and some 22 million — three-quarters of the population — are in need of food aid.