Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — Somalia’s government on Thursday denied U.S. allegations that Somali federal officials destroyed a U.S.-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and seized donor-funded food aid, saying the commodities cited in the reports remain under WFP custody and control.
In a foreign ministry press statement dated Jan. 8, Somalia said the food commodities referenced by Washington “remain under the custody and control of the World Food Programme, including assistance provided by the United States,” and said humanitarian operations had not been disrupted.
Somalia said the warehouse is located inside the Mogadishu port area, where “expansion and repurposing works are underway” as part of broader port development.
It said the work “has not affected the custody, management, or distribution of humanitarian assistance.”
The government said it is reviewing the matter through a “technical inter-agency committee” in coordination with humanitarian partners, and remains committed to humanitarian principles, transparency and accountability, and will provide further updates after the review is completed.
US aid pause
Somalia’s response came a day after the U.S. State Department said it had paused “all ongoing U.S. assistance programs which benefit the Somali Federal Government,” citing reports that Somali federal officials destroyed a U.S.-funded WFP warehouse and “illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis.”
In the same statement, the State Department said the Trump administration has “zero-tolerance” for “waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance,” and said any resumption would depend on Somalia “taking accountability for its unacceptable actions” and taking “appropriate remedial steps.”
A senior State Department official told the Associated Press the department is conducting a review to determine which U.S.-funded programs “directly or indirectly benefit” Somalia’s federal government, and to decide whether to pause, redirect or terminate them.
The official also told AP that authorities at Mogadishu port demolished the WFP warehouse at the direction of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and said this happened without prior notification or coordination with international donor countries, including the United States.
Somalia Today could not independently verify the U.S. allegation. WFP did not immediately issue a public response to Somalia’s statement.
Humanitarian crisis
The dispute adds to long-running donor concerns about oversight and diversion in Somalia, one of the world’s most aid-dependent countries and a key front in the fight against the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgency.
Washington has previously suspended select support to Somali security forces over accountability concerns. In 2017, the United States halted food and fuel support to most Somali military units after repeated failures to account for supplies.
In 2019, the United States said it would resume limited assistance to a single Somali unit following reforms and an inspection.
More recently, Somalia detained members of its U.S.-trained Danab commando unit in 2024 over the theft of donated rations, prompting the defence ministry to take over provisioning and to promise partners the results of its investigation.
Major donors have also periodically tightened controls around humanitarian operations. In 2023, the European Union temporarily withheld funding for WFP operations in Somalia after a U.N. investigation found widespread theft and misuse of aid intended to avert famine.
The episode also comes as relief agencies warn that funding shortfalls are forcing cuts in food assistance.
In October, WFP said it would cut emergency food assistance in Somalia to 350,000 people in November, down from 1.1 million reached in August, because of funding gaps, and said it needed $98 million to sustain minimum operations through the lean season until March 2026.
The United States remains a major donor to Somalia’s humanitarian response and stabilization efforts, and its ForeignAssistance.gov portal publishes program-level funding data.
