Sanctions against Mugabe regime expanded

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- Sanctions against the "illegitimate government" of Zimbabwe were expanded Friday to include entities tied to the regime, U.S. President George Bush said.

"Under the new executive order, the Treasury Department will (Friday) designate several of these government-controlled entities" subject to sanctions, Bush said in a statement, calling the regime of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe the "illegitimate government of Zimbabwe."

Bush said he was imposing new sanctions, which include freezing assets, because the Mugabe government continued its "politically motivated violence, disregarding calls from the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the United Nations to halt the attacks," Bush said.

The U.S. Treasury Department said 17 Zimbabwean commercial entities and one individual were added to a U.S. sanction list that includes Mugabe, his wife and key associates.

If talks between the Mugabe government and the Movement of Democratic Change result in a new government, the United States would be ready to provide "a substantial assistance package," and normalization with financial institutions, Bush said.

In the interim, Bush said he was authorizing use of up to $2.5 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund "to assist Zimbabwean refugees and asylum-seekers who have been displaced due to the ongoing violence in their country" and humanitarian aid.