US suspends food aid to Tigray over illegal trade

The United States aid agency, USAID, has paused food shipments to Ethiopia's Tigray region after discovering that goods it supplied were being sold on the local market. The aid was intended for the people of Tigray suffering under famine-like conditions. USAID's move comes just days after the World Food Programme suspended aid deliveries pending an internal investigation into the theft of food in the region, where 20 million people remain in need of humanitarian support. Other vital assistance not implicated in the diversion scheme will continue.