The war in Yemen may have caused 85,000 children under the age of 5 to die from extreme hunger or disease in the past three and a half years. That's according to a new analysis by Save the Children, a nonprofit organization, using U.N. data from April 2015 to October 2018.
Escalating violence and airstrikes around Yemen's port city off the Red Sea have reduced the commercial imports of food by more than 55,000 metric tons a month, according to the organization. Save the Children says any further decline in imports could lead to famine.
Up to 14 million people are at risk of famine, according to the U.N. That's half of Yemen's population. Saudi border blockades are largely the cause of obstructed access to food and other commercial products.
The U.N. says about 400,000 children are likely to suffer from the "deadliest form of extreme hunger" this year. That's 15,000 more than last year.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
