Mogadishu, Somalia — Somalia’s Foreign Ministry says no World Food Programme grain has been seized at Mogadishu port, after Washington halted some aid and opened a probe into claims that local officials demolished a U. S. -funded warehouse and took 76 tonnes of food.
Official statements indicate the warehouse still stands and that every bag donated by the United States remains under WFP lock and key.
A ministry communiqué released on 08 January describes the allegation as “unfounded” and attributes port disruption to an unrelated expansion project that “did not touch stored humanitarian cargo. ” Independent observers say the UN agency told media partners the same storehouse was in fact knocked down by port authorities, creating a gap in the custody chain that justified the U.
S.
Pause. Washington, the WFP’s largest single donor, contributed more than two billion dollars to the agency last year and has previously frozen programmes in Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia when diversion evidence emerged.
Local sources report that a technical committee made up of customs, port and humanitarian staff has begun reviewing CCTV footage and cargo logs to establish what was demolished and when.
Results have not been published.
The port is Somalia’s main entry point for relief food, handling the bulk of shipments during the 2011 famine when United Nations monitors documented repeated diversion by contractors, officials and armed groups.
That precedent, according to regional officials, underpins current U. S.
Caution even though proof of new theft remains unverified.
Further details are expected once the U. S.
Investigation and the joint port review conclude.
Source: Africa.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
