Tens of millions of the caterpillars -- described as "black, creeping and hairy" by villagers -- were advancing across the north of Liberia, contaminating water supplies and damaging food crops in the already impoverished country.

Winfred Hammond, FAO Representative in Liberia, said the situation amounted to a "national emergency" which unless contained was "very likely" to escalate into a regional crisis involving neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast."

The FAO estimates that up to 40 villages are affected in the Bong, Lofa and Gbarpolu regions of northern Liberia.

Two-thirds of Bong's 200,000 inhabitants have been affected by the caterpillar plague, the FAO said.

Three emergency committees had been set up but Hammond warned that "the country lacks the financial resources and technical expertise to combat the emergency on its own and will require international assistance."

The Liberian government has already asked the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc and the FAO for support.

The FAO said the plague of caterpillars was being described as Liberia's worst in 30 years.

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