Somalia’s government has denied claims from the United States that authorities in the country destroyed a U.S.-funded food aid warehouse and seized supplies meant for vulnerable civilians, a dispute that has prompted the United States to suspend assistance to the country’s federal government.
The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it was halting all support to Somalia’s federal authorities, citing allegations that humanitarian aid had been misused. The department said the Trump administration maintains “a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance.”
According to a senior State Department official, port authorities in Mogadishu demolished a World Food Program warehouse at the direction of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The official said the action was taken “with no prior notification or coordination with international donor countries, including the United States.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomatic reporting.
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Somalia’s foreign ministry rejected the accusation, saying the food supplies were not destroyed and remained under the control of the U.N. agency. “The commodities referenced in recent reports remain under the custody and control of the World Food Program, including assistance provided by the United States,” the ministry said.
Officials in Somalia said construction and redevelopment work are ongoing at the port as part of broader expansion plans, but insisted that the activities have not interfered with humanitarian operations or the distribution of aid.
Somalia “remains fully committed to humanitarian principles, transparency, and accountability, and values its partnership with the United States and all international donors,” the ministry said, without offering further specifics.
The World Food Program confirmed to The Associated Press that its warehouse at the Mogadishu port had been demolished by port authorities. The agency said the facility stored 75 metric tons of specialized nutritional products intended for malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls, as well as young children.
In a subsequent update, the WFP said it had “retrieved 75 metric tons of nutritional commodities,” though it did not provide details on how the supplies were recovered.
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Responding to those reports, the State Department said: “We’re glad to hear reports that certain commodities have been recovered and continue our investigation into diversion and misuse of assistance in Somalia. We’ve urged the Federal Government of Somalia to promptly follow through on their commitment to provide an account of the incident.”
Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa, is among the poorest countries in the world and has endured decades of conflict, political instability, and recurring natural disasters, including prolonged droughts that have worsened food insecurity.
During the final year of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, the United States provided about $770 million in assistance for programs in Somalia, although only a small portion of that funding went directly to the federal government.
The suspension of aid comes as the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of Somali refugees and migrants in the United States. Officials have pointed to fraud allegations involving child care centers in Minnesota, imposed tougher restrictions on Somalis seeking entry to the U.S., and made it more difficult for some already in the country to remain.
It was not immediately clear how much funding would be affected by the decision, particularly as the administration has sharply reduced foreign aid spending, dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, and has yet to release updated country-by-country assistance figures.
Elsewhere in Africa, South Sudan is also facing the fallout from U.S. aid restrictions. On Thursday, the U.S. suspended foreign assistance to a county in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, while similar support to Western Bahr el-Ghazal state was placed under review, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in the country.
The embassy accused South Sudanese officials of misconduct, saying they “take advantage of the United States instead of working in partnership with us to help the South Sudanese people.”
The actions, the statement said, “follow continued abuse, exploitation, and theft directed against U.S. foreign assistance by South Sudanese officials at national, state, and county levels.”
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South Sudan’s government has yet to respond to the allegations.
