Somali relief effort under investigation

MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 15 (UPI) -- Traders say food intended for starving Somali refugees is on sale in Mogadishu, and the United Nations says it is investigating its relief effort there.

Thousands of sacks of food with the World Food Program logo are pictured in a video being sold in the capital rather than sent to refugees. When the head of the aid operation saw the footage, he started an inquiry into the program.

Peter Goossens, the aid program's director in Somalia, calls the sale of food meant to be given away free to refugees a "minor phenomenon," The Times of London reported Monday.

Although the bags of corn and wheat and tins of cooking oil are marked "not for re-sale," they are being marketed from 10 warehouses and 15 shops, London's Channel 4 News reported.

Kenya is the source of about 45,000 tons of World Food Program staples that reach Somalia each month. Traders in the capital city told the TV station they bought it directly from the U.N. staff or their contractors, and shifted about a half ton to a ton each day to avoid detection.