Zimbabwe says US renewal of sanctions 'regrettable'

Zimbabwe on Wednesday slammed as a travesty of justice the "regrettable" year-long extension of sanctions targeted against selected government officials and institutions by the United States.

US President Donald Trump this week prolonged the sanctions, first imposed in 2003, on more than 100 individuals and entities -- including President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his predecessor Robert Mugabe -- over human rights abuses.

Trump also said the individuals posed "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to US foreign policy.

"Zimbabwe has no history of aggression against any nation, so the statement that 'Zimbabwe poses an extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States' is absurd," said Information Ministry Secretary Nick Mangwana in a statement cited by the state-media daily The Herald.

"The continued unilateral imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe by the United States is a travesty of justice against the Zimbabwean people," said Mangwana.

Since the removal of longtime ...