US halts assistance to Somalia over claims food aid was illegally seized

The US has suspended all assistance to the government of Somalia, alleging that officials destroyed a UN World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and seized "donor-funded food aid".

"The Trump administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance," said a US state department statement on X.

The message, posted on the account of the under secretary for foreign assistance, said reports had been received about officials illegally seizing 76 tonnes of food intended for "vulnerable Somalis".

Somali has denied the allegations, saying that the expansion work under way in the Mogadishu port, where the warehouse is located, had not affected any aid storage.

It stressed that all the humanitarian aid in question was still "under the custody and control of the World Food Programme including assistance provided by the United States".

A WFP staff member in Mogadishu, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the AFP news agency that the food aid had not been stolen.

"The warehouse was partially demolished during the weekend without the knowledge of the WFP team, but there was no looting involved," they said.

The US said it would only resume assistance if the Somali government took "accountability for its unacceptable actions and... appropriate remedial steps".

Although the US has withdrawn from several UN organisations under President Donald Trump, it remains by far the largest contributor to the WFP, paying $2bn (£1.5bn) in 2025 - almost a third of its total funding.

Somalia's government is battling al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants as it tries to rebuild the country after a devastating civil war and years of drought.

This is the latest example of the deteriorating relations between Washington and Mogadishu.

Last month, Trump lashed out at Somali migrants living in the US, telling reporters they should "go back to where they came from" and "their country is no good for a reason".

Communities have been targeted in immigration raids as the government alleges large-scale benefit fraud in Minnesota, the US state with the largest Somali community in the US.

The recent recognition by US ally Israel of the breakaway republic of Somaliland, which Somalia considers to be part of its territory, has further angered Mogadishu.

The aid that was allegedly seized by Somali officials was meant to help people cope with the effects of "drought, floods, conflict, high food prices and dwindling harvests", according to the WFP.

It quotes figures saying that 4.6 million people in Somalia are facing crisis levels of hunger.

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