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

Relations between Somalia and the U.S. hit a low point after Washington said it would pause further assistance that benefits the government in Mogadishu amid a dispute over the demolition of a World Food Programme warehouse.



The U.S. State Department's under secretary of foreign assistance said in an X post on Wednesday that Somali government officials had destroyed a U.S.-funded WFP warehouse and llegally seized donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis.



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



A WFP spokesperson on Thursday told 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 U.S. official said 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.