Caracas, July 17 (IANS): Venezuela has opened its border with Colombia for the second time this month to allow people to cross over to shop for basic amenities.

Last week, 35,000 crossed over for the first time since the border was closed in August 2015 by President Nicolas Maduro after former Colombian paramilitaries attacked a Venezuelan military patrol and injured three soldiers, BBC reported.

The border across a pedestrian bridge connecting Tachira in Venezuela and Cucuta in Colombia opened on Saturday, a day earlier than authorities from both countries had previously announced.

Officials said the border was expected to remain open for about 12 hours.

Venezuela has suffered severe shortages for months as a result of the falling price of oil which is the country's prime source of income, the BBC added.

Last week, the government reopened the border for up to 72 hours and as many as 10,000 Venezuelans from different cities passed through, Xinhua news agency quoted Tachira state Citizen Security Secretary Ramon Cabez as saying on Saturday.

The Foreign Affairs ministers of Venezuela and Colombia are slated to meet to discuss reopening of the border on August 4.