Tigray: U.S. maintains block on aid to Ethiopia security sector – discusses UN investigation of human rights crimes

2021-03-13 17:55:46 Written by  Eritrea Hub Published in English Articles Read 1085 times

MARCH 13, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

Source: Reuters

State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Friday that while the United States has decided to resume certain types of assistance, including that related to global health and food security, assistance for other programs and most programs in the security sector would remain paused.

“Given the current environment in Ethiopia, we have decided not to lift the assistance pause for other programs, including most programs in the security sector,” Price said at a news briefing.

Blinken has pressed Ethiopia to end hostilities in Tigray and on Wednesday, testifying before Congress, he said he wanted to see forces in Tigray from Eritrea and Amhara be replaced by security forces “that will not abuse the human rights of the people of Tigray or commit acts of ethnic cleansing, which we’ve seen in western Tigray.”

Thousands of people have died, hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes, and there are shortages of food, water and medicine in the region of more than 5 million people.

The State Department last month said Washington will de-link its pause on some aid to Ethiopia from its policy on the giant Blue Nile hydropower dam that sparked a long-running dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

But it cautioned that resumption of assistance would be assessed on a number of factors, including “whether each paused program remains appropriate and timely in light of developments in Ethiopia that occurred subsequent to the pause being put in place,” according to a State Department spokesperson.

Ethiopia’s military ousted the former local ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), from the regional capital Mekelle in November, after what it described as a surprise assault on its forces in Tigray.

The government has said that most fighting has stopped in Tigray but has acknowledged isolated incidents of shooting.

Both sides deny their forces have committed atrocities, and blame other forces for the killing of civilians. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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Source: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, discussed the importance of an international investigation into reported human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the State Department said on Friday.

It said that in the call, which took place on Thursday, Blinken also called for “enhanced regional and international efforts to help resolve the humanitarian crisis, end atrocities, and restore peace in Ethiopia.”

The United Nations said last week that Eritrean troops were operating throughout Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and reports suggested they were responsible for atrocities.

Last modified on Saturday, 13 March 2021 18:57