The time has come to call out the war in Yemen for what it really is.

All the talk of geopolitics and the struggle between Shia dominated Iran and Sunni dominated Saudi Arabia does of course have considerable substance, but the stark reality on the ground is something else entirely for ordinary Yemenis.  

For the simple inescapable fact is that this has become a war on children and starvation is being used as a weapon in that war. 

Yesterday’s report by humanitarian agency Save the Children that 85,000 children under the age of five may have died from acute malnutrition in three years of war in Yemen is a terrible indictment of the international community’s failure to protect civilian victims. 

“We are horrified that some 85,000 children in Yemen may have died because of the consequences of extreme hunger since the war began. For every child killed by bombs and bullets, dozens are dying from hunger and disease and it’s entirely preventable,” Save the Children said in its statement.

The key phrase here of course is “entirely preventable”. Over the past weeks the United Nations itself has warned that 14 million Yemenis are now on the brink of famine. 

Though time is rapidly running out, again though this famine is viewed as “entirely preventable,” should the right diplomatic pressure be brought to bear on those prosecuting and fuelling the war forcing them to bring an end to hostilities. 

So just what then is now being done to prevent the many more deaths humanitarian agencies predict are looming?

The problem of course is that any diplomatic moves are never as straightforward as they might appear, not least when duplicity in thought and deed are the order of the day among many involved in the Yemen conflict. 

For example, it’s only to be welcomed that the UK this week presented a draft resolution to the UN urging an immediate truce in the vital port city of Hodeidah, giving both sides of the conflict a two-week deadline to remove all barriers to humanitarian aid. 

But while Britain presents its draft resolution calling for a truce, it also continues to proffer weapons and other support to Riyadh that helps Saudi Arabia continue airstrikes that have killed many civilians and exacerbated the same humanitarian crisis the UK ostensibly seeks to alleviate. 

It’s worrying too that according to CNN even before Britain’s draft resolution was shown to members of the UN Security Council, the UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt took it to Riyadh to seek the approval of Mr bin Salman.  

On sight of the resolution, CNN sources said the crown prince “threw a fit,” requested changes to its contents, or better still, that it be dropped altogether.

The Americans in their own recent acquiescence to the House of Saud it must be said are no better. Over the past few days US president |Donald Trump has doubled down on his support for the crown prince despite the assessment of the US intelligence community that bin Salman ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

The whole Khashoggi affair embarrassing and damaging to the Saudis as it is, presented Washington with the political opportunity to exert some leverage on Riyadh over Yemen but Mr Trump appears to have chosen not to do so. 

Mr Trump’s real motives here of course are obvious. Clearly he wants to continue a business as usual relationship with Mr bin Salman, since under his de facto rule Saudi Arabia is playing a major role in US policy in aligning against Washington's current bete noire, Iran. Then there is that other little matter too of the crown prince also pledging to buy US arms worth more than $100 billion.

Money being little problem to the oil rich Saudis and their Emirati allies in the war in Yemen, both countries this week also curiously pledged a new $500 million food aid programme for Yemen, aiming to reach 10 to 12 million people.

Bombing Yemenis into starvation while simultaneously providing then with a food aid package would seem a curious move, when all Riyadh and its allies really needed to do was ease or lift the humanitarian blockade on Yemen and its crucial port city of Hodeidah. 

Few things are as they seem though in Yemen’s conflict, save for the fact that countless civilians continue to pay a horrific price. Right now grand gestures are the order of the day, but rarely manifest themselves to the benefit of civilians on the sharp end of the fighting. 

Which brings us to this week’s negotiations with UN special envoy Martin Griffiths arriving yesterday in Yemen’s capital Sanaa to begin his renewed push to get the country’s warring parties around the negotiating table. 

At face value there is much more optimism this time around that progress will be made even if the talks remain tricky indeed. The measure of just how much of a challenge Mr Griffiths faces was underscored by the resumption of fighting these past days in Hodeidah after a brief ceasefire.

If headway in the negotiations is to be made then diplomatic confidence building must be given priority. In theory at least, measures could be implemented quickly such as aid deliveries, prisoner swaps, promises of financial assistance in reconstruction efforts or an airlift for injured personnel. 

Only with this building of trust will it then be possible to establish a cessation of hostilities, which in turn can be leveraged into a partial ceasefire and hopefully, ultimately, a nation-wide truce. 

The envoy has already stated that Yemen's parties have given “firm assurances” they are committed to attending peace talks he hopes to convene in Sweden before the end of the year to agree on a framework for peace under a transitional government. To that end Mr Griffith’s meeting in Sanaa could not be more urgent. 

According to Lise Grande, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, each day a staggering 8.5 million Yemenis have “no idea where they will find their next meal or if they will find one”. 

Time has clearly run out for countless Yemenis. The use of starvation in this war on children has to stop and no diplomatic effort should be spared in doing so.

The alternative is too horrendous to contemplate and simply cannot be allowed to happen.