The United States has asked the United Nations to remove the names of six individuals and businesses from a U.N. sanctions list of suspected al Qaida supporters. The request comes in response to criticism from U.S. allies.
The U.N. Security Council's sanctions committee on Afghanistan put together a list of 219 people and 73 groups alleged to have links to al- Qaida, the terrorist network. The list represented an expansion of a list of 215 names compiled earlier by the United States. In January, the assets of those named were frozen and the groups came under international scrutiny.
But now the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, says the United States is asking the U.N. panel to revise the list, removing the names of three people and three companies. Among those to be taken off the list are two Somali-born Swedish citizens. Sweden and other European nations complained that the Security Council accepted the U.S. list without properly considering the rights of the accused.
The individuals and groups involved have signed detailed statements saying they would not participate in banned organizations.