Congo situation desperate, U.N. says

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KINSASHA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo is in desperate need of humanitarian support, the United Nations' World Food Program said Friday.

Fighting by militia groups in the eastern area of the country has led to massive migration of the population, the WFP said in a statement, adding it provided food assistance to 730,000 people in the DRC in July and August.

"In most cases people have left behind their homes, their fields and their livestock, which are the sole source of their food and income," said Martin Ohlsen, WFP representative in the DRC.

"It is important not to forget that this crisis in the East is taking place in one of the poorest countries in the world, where 5.4 million people were already facing chronic hunger or malnutrition."