The World Food Programme, a United Nations agency that administers food distribution, said it would formally notify Somalia that the demolition constituted a breach of UN diplomatic protocols.
The U.S. Embassy urged the Secretary of State to consider pausing, canceling, or postponing American assistance to Somalia until the government returned or compensated donors for the destroyed food aid.
However, the senior administration official said the pause would become permanent, with all aid officially ending by May.
Somalia’s ports minister had issued an eviction notice to the World Food Programme in December, but Somali officials later claimed the warehouse could continue operating while a final decision was pending.
The World Food Programme, a United Nations agency that administers food distribution, said it would formally notify Somalia that the demolition constituted a breach of UN diplomatic protocols.
The U.S. Embassy urged the Secretary of State to consider pausing, canceling, or postponing American assistance to Somalia until the government returned or compensated donors for the destroyed food aid.
On January 7, the State Department announced it had paused all U.S. assistance programs benefiting the Somali Federal Government, stating that any resumption would depend on Somali authorities taking accountability for their actions.
However, the senior administration official said the pause would become permanent, with all aid officially ending by May.
Somalia’s ports minister had issued an eviction notice to the World Food Programme in December, but Somali officials later claimed the warehouse could continue operating while a final decision was pending.
The port manager later asserted the food had been moved into containers and remained accessible.
The destroyed supplies were donated by American taxpayers through the Title II Food for Peace program and International Disaster Assistance.
The World Food Programme oversees distribution of the aid.
The disappearance of U.S. food aid comes amid longstanding allegations of corruption within Somalia’s humanitarian system.
Somalia parliament member Abdillahi Hashi Abib, who serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to U.S. officials warning that 90 percent of Somalia’s humanitarian assistance comes from the United States and that the Somali Disaster Management Agency has been defrauding donors.
Abib said aid funds have been captured and monetized by a single family network and its clan affiliates.
He alleged that three brothers of the agency’s chairman each receive $15,000 monthly salaries, paid through their wives, while the agency’s finance department and training unit are run by the chairman’s uncles.
Abib also claimed that food donations from the United States, European Union, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and China are routinely sold in Mogadishu markets after staged photo opportunities.
