New York (Sunatimes) U.N. official has on Tuesday announced that corrupt Somali politicians could face travel bans and have their foreign assets frozen under tough new United Nations sanctions, reports say.

According to AP news agency, the move could help get desperately needed food aid to the country’s growing number of famine victims.

The head of U.N arms monitoring group on Somalia, which provides an annual report to the U.N. Security Council, Matt Bryden said corruption has been identified as one of the main obstacles to the peace process in Somalia, adding the new sanctions will send a clear signal that corruption and political obstruction will no longer be tolerated.

Bryden was quoted as saying that anyone could be sanctioned for threatening peace and security or for blocking or stealing humanitarian aid or government funds.

The U.N says a team of eight investigators is due to begin work this week.

Bryden said their investigations will help the sanctions committee ensure that violators are held accountable.

He added that the sanctions are most effective against those with an international profile, including those with foreign passports, with foreign bank accounts, AP reports.

The monitoring group was set up 10 years after an arms embargo was imposed on Somalia in 1992, when hundreds of thousands were dying from famine and the country was in the grip of a clan-based civil war, adds the news agency.

The group’s mandate was to report anyone selling weapons to fuel the conflict. In 2008, the U.N. decided it should be able to punish violators by imposing sanctions that include travel bans and freezes on assets such as bank accounts and property.

If implemented, the move will be the first time senior Somali politicians could face consequences for corruption in the 20 years since the country dissolved into civil war.