US lifts aid suspension to Somalia after WFP disruption dispute

The United States on Wednesday said it would lift a suspension of aid to Somalia after claiming authorities in the East African nation had taken responsibility for actions earlier this month that disrupted aid operations.

Despite the US statement that Somalia had acknowledged accountability for the disruption of World Food Programme aid at the Port of Mogadishu that led to the suspension, the Somali government did not confirm the claim on Wednesday or immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

While the suspension has been lifted, it was not immediately clear when aid deliveries would resume. The WFP did not immediately respond to enquiries.

The US State Department said on 7 January that it suspended all assistance to Somalia’s federal government over allegations that Somali officials destroyed a US-funded warehouse belonging to the WFP, a United Nations agency, and seized 75 metric tons (82 tons) of food aid intended for impoverished civilians.

The WFP said in an earlier statement that its warehouse was demolished by Somali authorities. The warehouse contained specialised food intended for young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women who were malnourished. The organisation later said it had retrieved the food without providing additional details.

Somalia’s Foreign Ministry denied the US allegation, saying the expansion and construction work at the port had not affected custody or distribution of humanitarian assistance.

The State Department’s Office of the Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance posted a statement on Wednesday on the social media platform X, saying the US will “resume WFP food distribution while continuing to review our broader assistance posture in Somalia.”

The Trump administration has zero tolerance for “waste, theft, or diversion of US resources,” the statement added.

The US suspension came as the Trump administration has ratcheted up criticism of Somali refugees and migrants in the US, including fraud allegations involving child care centres in Minnesota. It has slapped significant restrictions on Somalis coming or attempting to stay in the US.

Located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia is one of the world’s poorest nations and for decades has been beset by chronic strife and insecurity exacerbated by multiple natural disasters, including severe droughts.