London - The British government says that £480 000 (about R7,3 million) of humanitarian aid supplies funded by the U.K. were seized by al-Qaida-affiliated militants in Somalia.
The supplies were seized when al-Shabaab militants raided warehouses and offices between November 2011 and February 2012.
While the incidents occurred between 2011 and 2012, the write-off was listed in the Department of International Development's annual report for 2012 and 2013 - once an investigation into the theft was completed.
The report says that DFID did not have any prior warning of the attacks and did not have time to move the supplies.
DFID said Sunday that working in some of the most dangerous countries in the world carries “inherent risk,” and it does all it can to mitigate such risks. - Sapa-AP