The northern Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado is staring at a "large and likely long-lasting" humanitarian crisis, with nearly a third of its population displaced following prolonged conflict, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned.

The region has been dogged by conflict since 2017, a situation which deteriorated further last month as militants attacked the town of Pemba killing dozens and forcing thousands to flee.

Following March's violence, UNICEF's Director of Emergency Programmes, Manuel Fontaine, visited the province and met with authorities and affected communities.

"It is just constant stories where you talk to people about having to run in the middle of the night, with, hopefully, the family together, but very often, families being separated…There are stories of people being kidnapped, stories of gender-based violence, horrific stories of the ordeals of people walking for days and days, kids arriving with their feet swollen and injured and having to be taken care of," he said on Tuesday.

the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 17,000 people fled the violence last month, with women and children accounting for almost 74 per cent of those displaced.

Before that, nearly 670,000 were internally displaced in Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula provinces.

UNICEF has appealed for funds to provide emergency response to the affected people, including provision of water and other basic supplies.