A new investigation commissioned by the UN Security Council found that in addition to the diversion of food aid, a number of regional authorities were collaborating with pirates while Somali government ministers sold diplomatic visas for trips to Europe.
“Somali ministers, members of Parliament, diplomats and ‘freelance brokers’ have transformed access to foreign visas into a growth industry, matched possibly only by piracy,” the report says according to the New York Times.
Officials have denied the visa problem is widespread. The World Food Programme said it had not yet seen the report but was investigating its allegations.
Watch Channel 4 News interviews Somalia’s foreign minister, Ali Ahmed Jama:
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Source: Channel 4
