WFP says food shipment for Burundi is blocked at border

NAIROBI, Kenya – The U.N’s World Food Program says a food shipment meant to feed about 112,000 people has been stopped at the Burundi border.

Spokeswoman Challiss McDonough said Friday the shipment was blocked while trying to enter from Rwanda. She says WFP believes it is a misunderstanding.

Burundi police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye confirms the trucks are stopped at the Gasenyi crossing but is not giving details.

WFP says more than half of Burundians are chronically malnourished and two-thirds of family income is spent on food. The East African country has seen almost two years of deadly political violence over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s stay in power.

Rwanda and Burundi have seen a rise in tensions, with Burundi’s government claiming that rebel forces have been trained and armed in Rwanda. Rwanda denies it.