The United States has suspended all assistance to the government of Somalia, accusing Somali officials of destroying a World Food Programme warehouse and seizing food aid meant for vulnerable civilians.
In a statement posted on Wednesday on the official social media account of the US State Department’s Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, the Trump administration stated that Somali officials had unlawfully taken 76 metric tonnes of donor-funded food.
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“The US is deeply concerned by reports that Federal Government of Somalia officials have destroyed a US-funded World Food Programme warehouse and illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis,” the post said.
It added: “The Trump administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance.”
Washington said the seized food had been funded by US taxpayers and was intended for people facing hunger and displacement. The statement did not specify when the alleged incident occurred or which Somali officials were involved.
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Somali authorities have not yet responded publicly to the allegations.
The decision comes against the backdrop of increasingly hostile rhetoric by Trump towards Somalis, both in Somalia and within the United States. At a cabinet meeting in December, Trump made remarks widely condemned as racist, accusing the Somali community in the US of “destroying America”.
“We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” Trump said at the December 2 meeting, according to US media reports. He also attacked Ilhan Omar, a United States representative from Minnesota, who arrived in the US as a child refugee from Somalia.
“Ilhan Omar is garbage, just garbage. Her friends are garbage,” Trump said. “These aren’t people that work. These are people that do nothing but complain.”
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During the same meeting, Trump referred to a high-profile fraud case in Minnesota involving individuals from the state’s large Somali community. Several people have been charged in connection with the misuse of federal nutrition funds, though community leaders have warned against stigmatising an entire population over the actions of a few.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later suggested that denaturalisation, the revocation of US citizenship, could be used as “a tool” against Somali Americans found guilty in the fraud case.
The administration has also stepped up immigration enforcement raids in Minneapolis, a city home to the largest Somali population in the United States, heightening fears within immigrant communities.
Humanitarian agencies have warned that the suspension of US aid could have serious consequences for Somalia, where millions rely on international assistance amid conflict, drought and chronic food insecurity.
