Overview
- The State Department said it suspended all U.S. assistance programs that benefit the Somali federal government following reports that a U.S.-funded World Food Programme warehouse was destroyed and 76 metric tons of food were seized.
- The World Food Programme said port authorities demolished its Mogadishu facility holding about 75 metric tons of specialized nutrition for malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women, girls, and young children, calling the site crucial to emergency operations.
- Somalia’s foreign ministry disputed that donor food was stolen, saying the stocks remained in WFP custody during port works, and a port handover note seen by Reuters records a transfer to another warehouse pending laboratory checks.
- U.S. officials said any restart of government-benefiting assistance depends on Somali accountability and remedial steps, with the scope of the pause unclear after earlier aid reductions and limited public funding data.
- WFP said it is engaging with authorities to safeguard supplies in a country where an estimated 4.4 million people face crisis-level hunger or worse.