Taliban set to face tougher sanctions over Bin Laden

Date: 18/01/01

EU FOREIGN ministers are set to tighten sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in a bid to force them to hand over Osama bin Laden, the West's most-wanted terrorist.

Ministers will next week discuss new measures drawn up by the United Nations which would increase the regime's diplomatic isolation and freeze Bin Laden's assets. The Taliban are believed to be harbouring the man accused of masterminding the bombing of two US embassies in East Africa in August 1998 in which more than 200 people were killed.

Swedish presidency officials say the measures will be accepted by all EU member states. They include closing down offices of the Taliban and national Ariana Afghan airline outside the country, banning flights to Afghanistan except for humanitarian reasons and prohibiting the sale of arms or raw materials for heroin production to the regime.

Member states are also being asked to scale back diplomatic relations by restricting the movement of the regime's officials and its staff in overseas missions.

The UN sanctions package was approved in December in a bid to step up pressure on the Islamic faction to hand over Bin Laden for trial, close terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and cooperate with international efforts to bring indicted persons to justice. The sanctions will be reviewed in 12 months but will only be lifted if the Afghans have complied with the UN's conditions.

EU foreign ministers are set to tighten sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in a bid to force them to hand over Osama bin Laden, the West's most-wanted terrorist.