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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The State Department said Wednesday that it has suspended all U.S. assistance to Somalia\u2019s federal government over allegations that Somali officials destroyed an American-funded warehouse belonging to the World Food Program and seized 76 metric tons of food aid intended for impoverished civilians<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance,\u201d the department said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe State Department has paused all ongoing U.S. assistance programs which benefit the Somali Federal Government,\u201d it said. \u201cAny resumption of assistance will be dependent upon the Somali Federal Government, taking accountability for its unacceptable actions and taking appropriate remedial steps.\u201d<\/p>\n The suspension comes as the Trump administration has ratcheted up criticism of Somali refugees and migrants<\/a> in the United States, including over well-publicized fraud allegations involving child care centers<\/a> in Minnesota. It has slapped significant restrictions on Somalis wanting to come to the U.S.<\/a> and made it difficult for those already in the United States to stay.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear how much assistance would be affected by the suspension because the Trump administration has slashed foreign aid expenditures, dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development<\/a> and not released new country-by-country data. <\/p>\n The U.S. had provided $770 million in assistance for projects in Somalia during the last year of the Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, but only a fraction of that went directly to the government.<\/p>\n The Horn of Africa, where Somalia is located, is one the world’s poorest nations and has been beset by chronic strife<\/a> and insecurity exacerbated by multiple natural disasters, including severe droughts, for decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n