EU temporarily holds back food aid in Somalia after UN finds widespread theft

FILE PHOTO: European flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS/NAIROBI/GENEVA (Reuters) -The European Union executive has temporarily suspended funding for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia, two senior EU officials told Reuters on Monday, after a U.N. investigation found widespread theft and misuse of aid meant to avert famine.

The European Commission gave more than $7 million in aid to the WFP's operations in Somalia last year, a fraction of the donations of more than $1 billion it received, U.N. data shows.