Shaheen, Booker, Coons, Merkley, Van Hollen, Kaine Call for Secretary Rubio to Act to De-escalate Tension in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,

Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Africa and Global Health Policy Sub-Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) released a statement after multiple reports of renewed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and neighboring Afar and Amhara. Last week, the Trump Administration let sanctions on human rights violators in Tigray expire under Executive Order 14046.

“We are alarmed by the deteriorating security situation in Ethiopia. As conflict in the Tigray, Oromia and Afar regions escalate, we are seeing the unraveling of the agreement that ended the 2020–2022 Tigray war, which the African Union brokered and the United States strongly supported. The international community must push signatories to the agreement to de-escalate tensions and return to mediation or risk seeing another conflict in the Horn of Africa.

“Unfortunately, this resumption of hostilities comes less than a week after the Trump Administration let sanctions expire on individuals and entities that facilitated gross human rights abuses in Tigray. Allowing these sanctions to expire emboldens belligerents that see no checks against their horrific actions and leaves victims without much needed justice. Last week, a truck transporting U.S.-funded food assistance for internally displaced people in Northwestern Tigray was hit in a drone strike by the Ethiopian military. A significant portion of the food assistance was damaged or destroyed, and critical assistance was disrupted for people already facing significant humanitarian needs after the 2020-2022 conflict. The Ethiopian military’s expansive use of drones in Amhara and Oromia is extremely concerning, will only worsen the humanitarian situation and risks widening the conflict. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front has also failed to live up to its commitments by undermining the Interim Regional Administration, displacing IRA-appointed officials, refusing disarmament and forcefully conscripting civilians.

“The stakes are too high to risk another conflict in an already volatile Horn of Africa. Prime Minister Abiy and Tigray People’s Liberation Front leadership must take steps to calm tensions. We urge Secretary Rubio and the State Department to engage the Ethiopian Federal Government, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front leadership and associated armed groups to stop the renewed conflict and return to mediation immediately.”

###

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.