By Asho Elmi - Reporter
Somalia, 8 January 2026 - Somalia’s government denied on Thursday that it had illegally seized food aid or mishandled humanitarian assets, after the United States suspended assistance to the country over allegations that a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse had been destroyed.
The Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that food commodities, including U.S.-funded aid, remain under the full "custody and control" of the WFP. It characterized the incident at the Mogadishu Port as a consequence of infrastructure development rather than a seizure of supplies.
The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it had paused all assistance programs benefiting the Somali federal government. Washington alleged that Somali officials destroyed an American-funded warehouse and seized 76 metric tons of food aid intended for vulnerable populations, stating it has a "zero-tolerance policy" for the diversion of life-saving assistance.
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Somali authorities said the warehouse in question is located within a zone of the Mogadishu Port currently undergoing "expansion and repurposing" as part of a modernization project.
The government insisted these works have not impacted the management or distribution of humanitarian aid.
Mogadishu said it has established a technical inter-agency committee to review the matter alongside humanitarian partners. The government stated it remains committed to transparency and will provide further updates once the review is complete.
The United States has been a major donor to Somalia, which continues to face a severe hunger crisis. WFP data suggests nearly 4.4 million people in the Horn of Africa nation are experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity.
