UPDATE - Somalia denies US allegations of WFP food seizure as Washington pauses aid

Supplies mentioned in recent reports remain under World Food Programme control, including aid provided by US, says Foreign Ministry

UPDATES WITH OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM SOMALI GOVERNMENT; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Gizem Nisa Demir and Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Somalia denied on Thursday US allegations that local officials seized food from a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse, as Washington suspended aid pending an investigation.

The supplies mentioned in recent reports remain under WFP control, including aid provided by the US, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

It said the WFP warehouse is located in the Mogadishu Port area, where ongoing expansion and redevelopment have not affected the custody, management, or distribution of humanitarian aid.

The ministry said the government is reviewing the matter through a technical inter-agency committee, in coordination with humanitarian partners, following concerns raised over port expansion activities.

The US has paused all assistance to Somalia’s federal government after alleging that local officials destroyed the WFP warehouse and seized 76 metric tons of food intended for vulnerable civilians, the State Department said on Wednesday.

“The Trump Administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance,” the department said on the US social media company X. “Any resumption of assistance will be dependent upon the Somali Federal Government taking accountability for its unacceptable actions and taking appropriate remedial steps.”

Washington contributed more than $2 billion to the WFP last year, even as the UN agency warned in October of a deepening hunger crisis in Somalia driven partly by funding cuts and rising malnutrition.

The decision comes amid heightened political scrutiny of Somali-linked issues in the US, including President Donald Trump’s December comments that Somali immigrants were “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota,” and his move in late November to end temporary legal protections for Somali residents following a major social services fraud case.

Kaynak:

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