MAARIB, Yemen 

Around 8 million Yemeni children face the threat of premature death due to the lack of food and drinking water, a local child advocacy group said Thursday.

In a statement, the Seyaj Organization for Childhood Protection, a local NGO, called for rescuing Yemen's endangered children.

It said the 8 million threatened children included some one million infants.

"The children are threatened by disease induced by malnutrition and the lack of proper healthcare," the organization asserted.

It warned against the potential deterioration of humanitarian conditions across Yemen as a result of chronic food and fuel shortages countrywide.

Seyaj said the food stocks of some 60 percent of Yemeni families had run out, adding that these families lacked access to fresh supplies.

On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive air campaign against Yemen's Shiite Houthi group.

Riyadh says its anti-Houthi campaign is in response to appeals by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi – currently in Riyadh – for help against the Shiite militia.

The Houthis, for their part, denounce the ongoing offensive as unwarranted "Saudi-American aggression" on Yemen.

Yemen has been rocked by turmoil since Houthi militants overran capital Sanaa last September, from which they have since advanced on other provinces.