U.S. suspends assistance to Somali government, alleging destruction of WFP warehouse and seizure of 76 metric tons of food aid
WASHINGTON — The United States has suspended all assistance to Somalia’s federal government, alleging Somali officials destroyed a U.S.-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and illegally seized 76 metric tons of food aid meant for vulnerable people, according to a State Department announcement Wednesday.
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- The State Department cited the destruction of a WFP warehouse and seizure of aid as the trigger for the suspension.
- Somali officials have not responded to the allegations.
- Assistance could resume if Mogadishu accepts responsibility and takes remedial steps, the U.S. said.
“The U.S. is deeply concerned by reports that Federal Government of Somalia officials have destroyed a U.S.-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis,” the statement said. “The Trump Administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance.” The announcement was posted to a State Department social media account representing the under secretary for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom.
Somali officials have not yet responded to the allegations of aid theft. The scope of the freeze remains unclear. The Trump administration has dramatically scaled back U.S. humanitarian assistance since returning to the White House in 2025, and it was not immediately known how much aid to the Somali government is currently active. Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. provided about $770 million in assistance for projects in Somalia, with only a small portion channeled directly through the federal government.
In signaling the possibility of a reversal, the State Department said a restart of assistance would be contingent on accountability measures in Mogadishu. “Any resumption of assistance will be dependent upon the Somali Federal Government taking accountability for its unacceptable actions and taking appropriate remedial steps,” the statement said.
The suspension caps months of escalating pressure from Washington on Somalia and on Somali communities in the United States. President Donald Trump has intensified immigration enforcement targeting Somalis and imposed additional restrictions on those seeking to enter the U.S. His administration has also stepped up air strikes against armed groups inside Somalia.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Somali immigrants and elected officials, including at a Dec. 2 cabinet meeting where he said Somalis are “destroying America.” He singled out Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born lawmaker who arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee, saying, “Ilhan Omar is garbage, just garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people that work. These aren’t people that say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great.’ These are people that do nothing but complain.”
As part of those remarks, Trump invoked a fraud scandal in Minnesota, home to the country’s largest Somali community, where several people have been charged. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has since indicated that denaturalization — revoking U.S. citizenship — could be used “as a tool” to penalize Somali Americans implicated in the scheme. The administration has also ramped up immigration enforcement raids in Minneapolis.
The U.S. move to pause assistance to Somalia’s federal government follows repeated warnings from aid agencies about diversion risks amid persistent drought, conflict and displacement across the country. It raises immediate questions about how U.S.-funded programs that rely on government partnerships will proceed — and whether safeguards demanded by Washington can be put in place swiftly enough to avoid deeper disruptions.
President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on January 4 [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
