Nearly a million people facing severe hunger in Mozambique

UN food agency appeals to donors for $82m to confront protracted humanitarian crisis in conflict-hit Cabo Delgado.

Almost one million people are facing severe hunger in northern Mozambique where a worsening conflict has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, the United Nations agency has warned. ISIL-linked fighters last month attacked Palma, a town in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado, sending residents scattering towards all directions in a desperate attempt to reach safety. It was the latest attack by an armed group known locally as al-Shabab that has been plundering towns and villages since 2017. On Tuesday, the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a briefing in Geneva that 950,000 people were now hungry in Mozambique.