EU demands Zimbabwe lift aid ban immediately

Brussels: The European Union demanded on Friday the immediate lifting of a ban on work by aid groups in Zimbabwe, saying hundreds of thousands of people in the country depended on such assistance for their survival.

President Robert Mugabe's government suspended all work by aid groups on Thursday nearly a week after banning some from distributing food, accusing them of campaigning for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

"This ban must be lifted right away," EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement.

"I am deeply distressed to think that hundreds of thousands of people who depend on aid from the European Commission and others for their very survival now face an even more uncertain future.

Michel stressed that all humanitarian relief efforts were based on the principles of independence, neutrality and impartiality.

"Further clarification from the Zimbabwean authorities is needed on the claims of inappropriate actions by certain relief organisations so that humanitarian operations can be restored in full without further delay," he said.

Michel said the ban would have serious consequences and meant NGOs and other international relief agencies were no longer allowed to provide basic humanitarian care to the poor.