File photo: Xinhua

SANAA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Billions of desert locusts are swarming through war-torn Yemen, threatening crops and exacerbating the food crisis.

They were seen invading cultivation areas in several provinces, including Dhamar, Bayda, Ibb, Dhalea, Mahweet and Hajjah, according to local residents and farmers.

The rainy season and the shortage of pesticides due to the war have left the swarms of migratory locusts out of control.

The five-year civil war between the government forces and Houthi rebels has pushed more than 20 million to the brink of starvation.