Somalia, US relations hit low point as Washington pauses aid to government

Relations between Somalia and the US hit a low point as Washington says it will pause further assistance that benefits the government in Mogadishu amid a dispute over the demolition of a World Food Program warehouse.

The US State Department’s under secretary of foreign assistance says in an X post that Somali government officials had destroyed a US-funded WFP warehouse and illegally seized donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis.

As a result, he says, Washington was suspending aid to Somalia. The value of the aid was not immediately clear.

A WFP spokesperson tells Reuters the program had retrieved 75 metric tons of nutritional commodities. A day earlier, another WFP spokesperson said the warehouse containing that same amount of assistance was demolished by port authorities.

A US official says Washington was “glad to hear reports that certain commodities have been recovered,” adding that the administration is continuing its 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,” the official says.

Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disputed the assertion that the US-provided aid had been stolen and says it remains in WFP custody.

The chill in ties comes against the backdrop of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, which infuriated Mogadishu.