The Trump administration has accused Somali officials of destroying a World Food Programme warehouse that contained US-funded food aid.<\/p>\n
Published On 8 Jan 20268 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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The United States says that it has suspended all assistance to the government of Somalia, alleging that officials destroyed a World Food Programme warehouse filled with food aid it funded.<\/p>\n
In a social media post<\/a> on Wednesday, the administration of US President Donald Trump alleged that Somali officials had seized 76 metric tonnes of donor-funded food aid that had been intended for Somalis in need.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cThe US is deeply concerned by reports that Federal Government of Somalia officials have destroyed a US-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement was made on the social media platform representing the US State Department\u2019s Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom.<\/p>\n Somali officials have not yet responded to the allegations of aid theft.<\/p>\n Still, the stark measure continues a recent trend under the Trump administration. In recent months, President Trump has leaned into criticism of Somalis living in the United States<\/a> and placed restrictions<\/a> on Somalis seeking to enter the US.<\/p>\n His administration has also stepped up air strikes targeting armed groups in Somalia itself.<\/p>\n Notably, in a December cabinet meeting, Trump personally levelled racist attacks against the Somali community in the US, saying they are \u201cdestroying America\u201d. He also attacked Ilhan Omar, a Democratic representative from Somalia who arrived in the US as a child refugee.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,\u201d Trump said at the December 2 meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cIlhan Omar is garbage, just garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren\u2019t people that work. These aren\u2019t people that say, \u2018Let\u2019s go, come on, let\u2019s make this place great.\u2019 These are people that do nothing but complain.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of his tirade, Trump cited a fraud scandal in the midwestern state of Minnesota, which has seen some members of the large Somali community there charged with wrongdoing.<\/p>\n White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has since indicated that Trump could use denaturalisation \u2013 the revocation of US citizenship \u2013 as \u201ca tool\u201d<\/a> to penalise Somali Americans involved in the fraud scheme.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has also ramped up immigration enforcement raids in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a city with the largest Somali community<\/a> in the US.<\/p>\n