Zimbabwe’s finance minister blamed international sanctions on Sunday for a cash crunch that has forced the government to delay wages to soldiers and civil servants as President Robert Mugabe faces rare popular protests, Reuters reported. Western countries imposed sanctions in 2001 on Mugabe’s government over allegations of vote-rigging and human rights abuses, which he rejects, while lenders such as the International Monetary Fund have frozen financial aid since Harare defaulted in 1999. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the sanctions were hurting the government’s ability to meet its obligations.
