President Barack Obama has extended for another year US sanctions that target Zimbabwes president and others linked to him, saying some people are continuing to undermine the countrys democratic processes. The White House issued the notice on Wednesday, the same day that Zimbabwes former opposition leader called for an end to political oppression and police violence in his first parliamentary address as prime minister.
Former President George W. Bush first imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2003, then expanded them in 2005 and 2008. The sanctions target scores of people and companies linked to President Robert Mugabe with travel bans and asset freezes.
Obama extended the ban because ``the actions and policies of these persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States, according to a White House statement.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its 1980 independence from Britain, blames Western sanctions for Zimbabwes economic collapse. But the long-time opposition party blames mismanagement and corruption by Mugabes party. Zimbabwes inflation is the worlds highest and has left most of its people dependent on foreign handouts, and a cholera outbreak has killed some 3,955 people since August.
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