More than five million people in Africa's conflict-ravaged Sahel region are facing hunger, the World Food Programme said on Thursday, just as the coronavirus spreads into affected countries.

The agency called the situation in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger "extremely worrying," and warned that the humanitarian crisis was "spiralling out of control".

The three countries are among the poorest in the world and are struggling to stop insurgencies that have killed thousands of people.

There are fears that their fragile healthcare systems and conflict put them at particular risk of coronavirus outbreaks.

"Our message to the world is clear – look away now and the consequences will be no less than catastrophic," said Chris Nikoi, the agency's director for West Africa.

The WFP said food insecurity Burkina Faso was particularly severe.

About 2.1 million people will face food insecurity in the West African state by June, it said, up from over 680,000 at the same time last year.

Burkina Faso has recorded 288 confirmed coronavirus cases, 16 of which have been fatal, a tracker compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows.

Across its borders, about 1.3 million people are facing hunger in Mali and 2 million in Niger.

The agency said it needed $208 million (Dh764m) until August to continue food aid, with the number of people driven from their homes by conflict growing.

It warned that displaced people "now rely almost entirely on external assistance to survive".

Mali has so far confirmed 31 coronavirus cases, while Niger has recorded 74.

Four French soldiers stationed in the Sahel region with France's Barkhane force have tested positive for coronavirus, the army said on Thursday.

Col Frederic Barbry, spokesman for the French armed forces chief of staff, told AFP one of the soldiers was being treated in Africa while the other three were flown home.

The group arrived in the area several weeks ago and were not showing symptoms, Col Barbry said.

He said people with whom they had been in contact were being placed in quarantine but military operations were continuing as normal.

The 5,100 Barkhane troops fight extremists in the region in co-operation with Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad.

France last week said it would withdraw its troops from Iraq, most of whom are trainers to local armed forces, because of the coronavirus pandemic.