The United States (US) on Monday imposed sanctions on Eritrea’s army chief over allegations of widespread rights abuses in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, reported Reuters. The US government warned that it would continue to target all those involved in instigating the conflict.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department said Eritrea’s chief of staff of the defense forces, Filipos Woldeyohannes, was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for leading an entity accused of “despicable acts” including massacres, looting, rape, torture, executions and shooting of civilians.
The statement also reiterated Washington’s call for the permanent removal of Eritrean troops from Tigray.
“We urge Eritrea to immediately and permanently withdraw its forces from Ethiopia and urge the parties to the conflict to begin ceasefire negotiations and end human rights abuses,” Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M Gacki said in the statement.
Fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray broke after Noble Peace Prize winner Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed teamed up with former enemy Eritrea to wage war on the Tigray’s local ruling party, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accused of attacking a military base to steal the weapons and arm the anti-government militia.
Thousands of people have been killed and over two million have been displaced in the war-torn Tigray region since fighting began in November last year.
The statement said over five million people in Ethiopia’s Tigray are currently in need of humanitarian aid and more than 400,000 people are experiencing famine conditions.
Eritrea has reportedly rejected the US sanctions on its army chief.
“The government of Eritrea rejects, both in letter and spirit, the utterly baseless allegations and blackmail directed against it,” the Eritrean foreign ministry said in a statement.
Last week, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he is gravely concerned about the situation in Ethiopia.
