U.N. ends some food contracts in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 11 (UPI) -- The U.N. World Food Program said Thursday it wouldn't award new contracts to three Somali businessmen accused of diverting food aid to Islamic militants.

The decision follows a critical U.N. report that said up to half the food aid to Somalia may be getting diverted, The New York Times reported. The report also accused Somali officials of peddling visas to pirates and militants.

"The integrity of our organization is paramount and we will be reviewing and investigating each and every issue raised by this report," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said Thursday.

The World Food Program is the largest aid agency in Somalia, providing help to more than 2 million Somalis, the Times said.

For months, WFP officials denied any trouble, despite growing allegations that the contractors used to haul the food into Somalia were stealing some of the cargo for militants trying to topple Somalia's transitional government.

During the past few days, more than 50 people were killed and 150 wounded in fighting between government forces and insurgents in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, officials said.

World Food Program officials said some of the comments in the report "conflicted with operational facts and information."