The United States (US) President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order that paves way for more sanctions to be imposed on parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia, adding pressure on parties to end the ongoing civil war, reported The Times Of India.
The new executive order allows Washington to take punitive action against the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Amhara regional government if they continue to fuel military conflict instead of negotiating a cease-fire.
The move comes after the US government has repeatedly called for a negotiated end to the conflict and for aid access to the war-torn Tigray region.
“Absent clear and concrete progress toward a negotiated ceasefire and an end to abuses – as well as unhindered humanitarian access to those Ethiopians who are suffering – the United States will designate imminently specific leaders, organizations, and entities under this new sanctions regime,” Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, warned in a statement.
The war between Ethiopia’s federal military and the TPLF forces broke out last year in November when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military incursion into Tigray after accusing the TPLF forces of attacking a federal military base in the region to try and steal weapons. Since then, thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million have fled their homes.
The fighting spread from Tigray to Amhara and Afar regions in July this year and also in the country’s north, where now hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and over 1.7 million are dependent on food aid from other countries.
“The United States is determined to push for a peaceful resolution of this conflict,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
The US president called out all the parties to the conflict to halt their military campaigns and come together for negotiation talks, respect human rights and allow humanitarian access to those in need.
