The situation in war-torn Yemen, already facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, is getting even worse, the United Nations warned on Thursday. Since 2014, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has been battling the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels in a conflict that has pushed the country to the brink of famine and economic collapse.

"The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a statement.

"An estimated 80 percent of the population - 24 million - require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need.

"Severity of needs is deepening, with the number of people in acute need a staggering 27 percent higher than last year."

The OCHA statement said that two-thirds of the country was "already pre-famine", while one-third faces "acute vulnerabilities".

The war between the Huthis and pro-government troops escalated in March 2015, when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into exile in Riyadh and a Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels.

Since then, around 10,000 people - mostly civilians - have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded in the conflict, according to the World Health Organization.

Human rights groups say the real figure could be five times as high.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019