More than 31 million people across West and Central Africa may not have enough to eat in the coming months as hunger rises due to an “explosive mix” of skyrocketing food prices, conflict and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. 

The Cabo Delgado region in northern Mozambique is staring at a “large and likely long-lasting” humanitarian crisis, with nearly a third of its population displaced, worsening hunger and rising risk of deadly diseases, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

UN-appointed independent rights experts on Tuesday condemned the killing of more than 50 people by “brutal policing methods”, linked to disputed national elections held in January.  

The UN and international partners working to support a lasting peace and democratic election process across Somalia, said on Sunday that they were highly concerned by the current situation there, calling on Somali leaders to “prioritize the national interest” and resolve their political impasse.