The United States wants Eritrea and Ethiopia to immediately withdraw their forces from the Tigrayan region of Ethiopia. Foreign Minister Blinken said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” about atrocities and crimes against humanity.
He also called on the international community, in particular the African Union, to engage more clearly with the situation in Tigray. Among other things, there should be an independent investigation into human rights violations, says Blinken.
The villages were wiped out
The minister’s statement comes a day after the New York Times published a classified US government report. The Ethiopian authorities, along with Eritrean militias and soldiers, are reported to be systematically guilty of ethnic cleansing.
Entire villages are said to have been wiped out and their inhabitants disappeared. The report was prepared earlier this month. In early November, the Ethiopian army invaded Tigray, according to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to end the uprising.
Border conflict with Eritrea
The region is the base for the armed Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, which has ruled Ethiopia for nearly thirty years. Under the leadership of the People’s Liberation Front for the Liberation of Tigray, the country fought a bloody border war with neighboring Eritrea, which borders Tigray.
Prime Minister Abe made peace with Eritrea after coming to power. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. But the TPLF differed with the peace, so the tension in the border region has never disappeared.
