KINSHASA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- About 25.6 million people, or 22 percent of the population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are experiencing high acute food insecurity, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday.

The most affected populations, it said, are mainly displaced people and returnees, concentrated in the provinces of North Kivu, Ituri, South Kivu, and Tanganyika, Maindombe.

The UN agency projected that food insecurity will remain similar to current situations in the first half of 2025.

"The food security situation remains critical for millions of people in the DRC," said Rein Paulsen, director of FAO's Office of Emergencies and Resilience. "Armed violence and competition for resources have caused massive damage to rural livelihoods and infrastructure, disrupting essential agricultural production."

About 7 million people remain internally displaced in the country due to ongoing conflict and disasters, according to a recent report released by the UN International Organization for Migration. ■