Drought disaster threatens 13 million

Drought has left 13 million people on the brink of a full-scale humanitarian crisis in West Africa.

Oxfam said tens of thousands of people in the Sahel region could die in the coming months if the international community did not distribute aid immediately.

Western governments and aid agencies risked making the mistakes of last year in the Horn of Africa, where the famine may have been less severe had there been a swifter response, the charity added.

The next harvest in the region is due in October and the United Nations estimates that more than £450m of aid is needed.

PA