The United States (US) President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for the withdrawal of foreign military forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region, reported Reuters.
“I am deeply concerned by the escalating violence and the hardening of regional and ethnic divisions in multiple parts of Ethiopia,” Biden said in a statement. “The large-scale human rights abuses taking place in Tigray, including widespread sexual violence, are unacceptable and must end.”
The US president also called on Eritrean and Amhara forces and other authorities to grant immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access to the people in the Tigray region in order to prevent widespread famine.
The statement came just days after the US government announced it was imposing wide-ranging restrictions on economic and security assistance on Ethiopia.
The US also imposed visa restrictions on Ethiopian and Eritrean government officials and members of the countries’ security forces.
The visa restrictions also applied to other individuals, including Amhara regional and irregular forces and TPLF members, accused of contributing to the six-month-old war and undermining efforts to resolve the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had sent military troops to Tigray in November after accusing the regional ruling party, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of orchestrating attacks on federal army camps.
The Ethiopian prime minister declared victory at the end of the month when the army entered the regional capital, Mekele. The fighting, however, continued and the six-month-long conflict led to allegations of massacres and rape by Ethiopian forces and Eritrean troops.
Earlier this week, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said if the US restrictions continued, then the Ethiopian government will be forced to reassess its relations with Washington, which might have implications beyond the two country’s bilateral relationship.
“The attempt by the US administration to meddle in its [Ethiopia’s] internal affairs, is not only inappropriate but also completely unacceptable,” the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
