EU suspends food aid to Somalia amid theft investigation

The European Union has confirmed it’s temporarily frozen payments to the World Food Programme (WFP) for deliveries of humanitarian aid to Somalia.

A spokesman for the European Commission, Balazs Ujvari, said the move was a precautionary measure to safeguard EU funds.

A UN investigation has identified widespread theft of aid intended for vulnerable Somali people, with local officials, members of the security forces and humanitarian workers all involved, the BBC reported.

Last year, the European Union spent more than $7m on WFP operations in Somalia.

The US agency for international development says it’s not currently planning to suspend food aid to Somalia.