Red Cross 'livid' that sanctions, frozen aid stoking Afghan crisis

FILE PHOTO: An Afghan evacuee carrying a child walks at a holding centre run by the Italian Red Cross, where she carries out a quarantine with others, in Avezzano, Italy, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - A senior Red Cross official said he was furious that sanctions and donor freezes are cutting off basic services in Afghanistan, and he called on donors to find creative ways to prevent a "massive humanitarian crisis".

Humanitarian workers say that U.N. and unilateral sanctions on the Islamist Taliban, which seized power in August, are causing confusion and hesitation among donors despite some efforts to grant licenses to ease aid flows.