At least 400,000 children in the conflict-ridden Kasai region of the DRC could starve to death in the coming year without urgent aid, the UNICEF warned yesterday.

'At least 400,000 children under five in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and could die in 2018 if they are not urgently reached with lifesaving health and nutrition interventions," the U.N. children's agency said in a statement.

In the restive Kasai region, clashes between the army and Kamuina Nsapu militiamen have claimed thousands of lives and displaced over 1 million over the past 18 months.