Thousands of displaced Somalis rely on food aid from WFP Up to half the food aid in Somalia is diverted to corrupt contractors, local UN workers and Islamist militants, a leaked UN report says.The report, by the UN monitoring group in Somalia, is particularly critical of the UN's own World Food Programme and recommends an independent inquiry. It says WFP contracts are awarded to a few powerful individuals who operate cartels that sell the food illegally. The report has not been made public yet, but its contents have been leaked. US funding cutThe UN document says food aid is diverted to a web of distributors, transporters and armed groups, with some local UN workers also taking a cut in the profits, the BBC's Barbara Plett reports from the UN. It blames the problem on the food distribution system in the war-torn country, where transporters have to navigate roadblocks manned by various militias and bandits. Extracts of the report have been quoted by the New York Times and by news agencies.[Read more...]