Washington, United States

President Donald Trump on Friday froze US aid to South Africa, citing a law in the country that he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers, despite Johannesburg's denials.

The law would "enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation," Trump said in an executive order, which also noted foreign policy clashes between the two countries over the Middle East.

Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid and the government under pressure to implement reforms.

Trump added that the United States would "promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination."

The US president has recently claimed that South Africa was confiscating land via the expropriation act signed last month, a charge the South African government has described as misinformation.

Trump's ally Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, has accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's government of having "openly racist ownership laws."

Attempts to license Musk's Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa have reportedly been delayed by a policy that requires major companies to provide 30 percent equity to historically disadvantaged groups.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also said he would skip upcoming G20 talks in South Africa, accusing the host government of having an "anti-American" agenda.

bgs/acb

© Agence France-Presse