Horror photos reveal millions starving in Yemen amid fears an entire generation could be crippled by hunger
A third of children under five years old are suffering from acute malnutrition.
GRAPHIC pictures have exposed the true horror of war-torn Yemen where millions of people are starving, with many children dying of hunger.
A staggering 10,000 people have been killed during the 18-month war, with more than 14 million going hungry and at least half of them starving.
The UN World Food Programme said Yemen now has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world because of a blockade and bombing by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition.
Muhannad Hadi, head of WFP in the Middle East, said: “Hunger is increasing every day and people have exhausted all their survival strategies.
"Millions of people cannot survive without external assistance.”
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The war has also left 21 million people dependent on food and medical aid, the report.
A third of children under five years old are suffering from acute malnutrition - forced to eat grass and drink seawater because of a shortage of aid.
Some of the worst affected are babies who were left disfigured because their mums were too weak to breastfeed.
They had to rely on sugar water instead.
The health service now faces huge financial strain as ministers admit it had "run out of funds".
“An entire generation could be crippled by hunger,” Torben Due, WFP director in Yemen, said.
Before the war Yemen relied on imports for 90 per cent of its food, medicine and fuel but now the country is now receiving 30 per cent of what it needs.
Photographs have been released showing teenagers dying of hunger in the Red Sea city of Hodeida.
Emaciated teen Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, is bedridden and unable to eat.
She suffered malnutrition five years ago after food and medical supplies were cut off to the area.
“Her father couldn’t [afford to] send her anywhere,” her aunt, Saida Ali Baghili, said.
“Before the aid we were surviving on anything edible like green leaves, grass."
As well as an alleged blockade, Saudi Arabia has barred d all commercial flights into and out of Sana’a, Yemen’s capital.
People are dying because they are not allowed to travel abroad," said George Khoury, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen.
But Saudi Arabia has denied claims of a blockade on Yemen.
Officials say restrictions are only in place to stop the Houthi rebels from getting hold of weapons.
Major General Ahmed Asir, coalition spokesman said: “No, there is no blockade.
"Control is different from blockade, which means that nobody can enter or leave the country."
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