
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The World Food Program has launched emergency operations in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania, distributing food rations to the victims of flooding across West Africa, the U.N. relief agency said Tuesday.
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The World Food Program has launched emergency operations in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania, distributing food rations to the victims of flooding across West Africa, the U.N. relief agency said Tuesday. The organization has provided rations to 50,000 victims since Friday. Burkina Faso has been the hardest hit by the floods, with 110,000 people forced to flee their homes, mainly in the capital, Ouagadougou. The WFP said it aims to provide food to 125,000 people in the country. In Niger, the relief agency distributed assistance on Monday to 41,000 people after a dike near the northern town of Agadez burst. WFP said it plans to distribute food to around 11,500 people on the Mauritanian border town of Rosso. Some 350,000 people across West Africa have been hit by heavy flooding, killing at least 25 in Ghana and seven in Burkina Faso, U.N. officials said last week. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.