A record number of almost seven million people in South Sudan - or more than 60 percent of its population - are facing severe hunger, according to a new report by the government and three United Nations agencies, Al Jazeera reports.

The warning on Friday came some nine months after a fragile peace deal between South Sudan's warring sides ended a ruinous five-year civil conflict.

The report said close to two million people were near starvation, but stopped short of declaring a famine.

"Every year, hunger reaches new and unprecedented levels in South Sudan with millions of people unsure where their next meal will come from, particularly at this time of the year when hunger peaks from May to July," Hsiao-Wei Lee, of the World Food Programme (WFP), said in the capital, Juba.