By Ebi Kesiena
Payments to the World Food Programme (WFP) for humanitarian aid delivered to Somalia have been temporarily frozen by the European Union (EU).
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.
Recall that, last month after five months of suspending food aid to millions of people in Ethiopia, due to same theft issues, World Food Program (WFP) slowly resumed food aid to people in need.
Last year, the European Union spent more than $7m (£5.6m) on WFP operations in Somalia.
The US agency for international development says it’s not currently planning to suspend food aid to Somalia.
