WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday suspended a program aimed at reuniting refugees from mainly East Africa with relatives in the United States after DNA testing revealed rampant fraud.

Only about one of five tested “could show that family relationship,” State Department spokesman Robert Wood said when announcing the indefinite suspension of the refugee family reunification program also known as “Priority Three” or “P3.”

Most of the nearly 5,000 refugees tested were from Somalia, Ethiopia and Liberia, he said.

“We initially tested a sample of approximately 500 refugees, primarily Somalians, Ethiopians in Kenya under consideration for US resettlement through the P3 program,” Wood said.

Family links were established only in about 20 percent of the samplings, he said.

“After the samples suggested high rates of fraud, we expanded testing to Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia and Ivory Coast,” he said.

Except for Ivory Coast, which had smaller samples, the percentages were roughly the same, said a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“So the program has been suspended and the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security are looking into it further to see what we can do with regard to this particular program,” Wood said.

A refugee already living in the United States, identified as the “anchor,” is entitled to seek permission to bring a spouse, minor children, parents and siblings.

But they have to undergo interviews, medical examinations and security screening.

One US official told AFP that the DNA testing that was done did not involve the applicants against the anchor relatives in the United States.

“It was just to see the relationship or lack of relationship among the applicants of the P3 program,” the official said.

More than 95 percent of the P3 program applicants come from Africa, the official said.