Monday, May 24, 2021
Military action sanctions
USA cuts part of aid to Ethiopia
For six months the hostilities in the Tigray region have repeatedly led to military conflicts. Millions of people in the region are cut off from the rest of the world. Now the US is announcing sanctions against a number of those involved.
In the conflict over the Ethiopian region of Tigray, the USA is putting participants from Ethiopia and Eritrea under pressure. Experts warn of an impending humanitarian catastrophe. Millions of people are cut off from the outside world. There are also reports of massacres of the civilian population. As a result, Washington announced visa restrictions. In addition, there will be a “large-scale” restriction of economic and security aid for Ethiopia. However, humanitarian aid in areas such as health, nutrition and education should not be affected.
The punitive measures are directed against “current or former Ethiopian or Eritrean government officials” and members of the security forces, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Members of the renegade People’s Liberation Front TPLF, which ruled in Tigray, were also affected.
Blinken emphasized that those affected had “not taken any sensible steps to end the hostilities”. “The people of Tigray continue to suffer from human rights abuses, abuse and atrocities.” Urgent humanitarian aid is being “blocked” by the Ethiopian and Eritrean military “and other armed actors.”
Ethiopian government troops launched an offensive against the People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in November. Since then, the region’s estimated six million inhabitants have largely been cut off from the rest of the world. In the course of the conflict, soldiers from neighboring Eritrea also marched in, accused of massacring the civilian population and sexual violence against women.
Even more than six months after the entry of the Ethiopian troops, the fighting continues. However, according to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the region has returned to normal. According to him, food and other relief items are being delivered to the population.
.