WFP stresses food to Congolese refugee camps not reduced

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday that food rations to Congolese refugees in two camps in Burundi have not been reduced, and that all refugees receive an agreed monthly food basket providing a daily calorie intake of 2,166 Kcal. WFP was reacting to reports on the privately owned Radio Isanganiro that Congolese refugees in Gasorwe camp in the northern province of Muyinga demonstrated on Saturday against what they perceived as poor human conditions. WFP said the reports were incorrect. "The Congolese refugees receive a 30-day ration, comprising 12.3 kg of cereals, 3.6 kg of pulses, 0.6 kig of oil and 1.2 kg of CSB [corn-soya-blend] per person," Karine Strebelle, reports and information officer for WFP Burundi, told IRIN. "The ration has not been decreased". The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bujumbura, and the NGO African Humanitarian Action, which works in the camp, said there had been no demonstration on Saturday. Strebelle said that WFP, together with UNHCR, were concerned about the refugees and continued to monitor the situation closely. She said that a joint head-count had been carried out at the beginning of April and that 2,121 refugees were registered in Gasorwe and 6,800 in a camp in Cibitoke Province, northwestern Burundi.