Almost half a million pounds of British taxpayer-funded aid and equipment has fallen into the hands of al-Qaeda, the Department for International Development has admitted.
DfID refused to specify what the lost supplies were, but an aid industry expert
said the value suggested a “huge amount” of material that could keep the
terrorists going for a “fairly long time”.
Why were repeated confiscations allowed to continue?
Why were repeated confiscations allowed to continue?
Were local partners colluding with terrorists?
The terror group’s Somali franchise, al-Shabaab, “confiscated” the equipment
from DfID contractors in multiple incidents over at least three months before
any action was taken. The admission is contained in the small print of the department’s latest
accounts, which say that £480,000 worth of “humanitarian materials and supplies”
was written off following repeated “confiscations” by al-Shabaab.
The confiscations are one of a series of developments disclosed by the
department, which will increase controversy over the British aid budget, the
only item of government expenditure that is rising sharply in an era of cuts.British aid is due to reach about £11billion by 2015, to meet the Government’s
promise that aid spending should be 0.7 per cent of gross national income.
Critics say the 0.7 per cent figure encourages wasteful spending to meet the
target. DfID refused to specify what the lost supplies were, but an aid industry expert
said the value suggested a “huge amount” of material that could keep the
terrorists going for a “fairly long time”.
Aid industry sources said dried foodstuffs of that value could feed 20,000 people for more than a year. “It is surprising that no action was taken, which suggests that, at best, DfID was asleep to the loss of its property and, at worst, that its local partners were colluding with the terrorists,” the aid expert said.
Aid industry sources said dried foodstuffs of that value could feed 20,000 people for more than a year. “It is surprising that no action was taken, which suggests that, at best, DfID was asleep to the loss of its property and, at worst, that its local partners were colluding with the terrorists,” the aid expert said.
Read more - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/somalia/10235384/Britains-foreign-aid-has-fallen-into-hands-of-al-Qaeda-DfiD-admits.html
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