The US State Department has announced that it is suspending all US aid to the government of Somalia, citing an incident in which officials in the country allegedly destroyed a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and confiscated 76 tonnes of food aid intended for vulnerable Somalis.
“The Trump administration has a zero-tolerance policy against the waste, theft and diversion of life-saving aid,” the department said in a statement on the X social media platform.
The US last year donated more than $2 billion to the World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian agency, which has provided emergency food assistance to millions of people affected by a variety of crises such as hunger, conflict or natural disasters.
WFP warned last October that the hunger crisis was worsening, partly due to funding cuts, which have led to reduced aid reaching Somalis and rising malnutrition rates.
It is not known how much additional aid may be affected by the suspension or how long it will last.
“Resumption of assistance will be contingent on the Federal Government of Somalia taking responsibility for its unacceptable actions and taking appropriate remedial action,” the department added.
The administration’s decision comes amid increasing verbal and political attacks on Somali immigrants, including a December statement by President Trump that they had “completely taken over the once great state of Minnesota,” following a scandal involving widespread corruption in public services.
Trump ended temporary legal protections for Somalis living in Minnesota in late November, arguing that the state had become a hub for money laundering and fraud.
