On Tuesday there were a series of warnings issued by the United States concerning the war.
They are carried in full below, with an analysis by Reuters.
Martin
Source: State Department
High-Level Meetings on Ethiopia
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:
Today, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with African Union High Representative Olusegun Obasanjo to discuss the crisis in Ethiopia. Following their discussion, the Secretary, accompanied by U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman, hosted a meeting with High Representative Obasanjo, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, EU High Representative Josep Borrell, UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, German Minister of the Federal Foreign Office Niels Annen, and French Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Frederic Clavier to discuss the conflict. They welcomed the close coordination between the African Union and IGAD in pursuit of a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
The United States, the European Union, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom urged the parties to immediately end abuses and enter into negotiations toward a ceasefire to lay the foundation for a broader and inclusive dialogue to restore peace in Ethiopia and preserve the unity of the Ethiopian state. They also called on the parties to the conflict to adhere to international law and allow unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to all who are suffering in Ethiopia.
Source: USAID
CHAIR’S STATEMENT BY USAID ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER FOLLOWING A HIGH-LEVEL MINISTERIAL ON NORTHERN ETHIOPIA
Statement
For Immediate Release
Today, Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, and I convened an urgent High-Level Ministerial on northern Ethiopia—where millions of civilians are currently experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. This High-Level Ministerial of G7 nations and other major donor countries to the humanitarian response included senior representatives from Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States. Participants underscored their deep concern over deteriorating humanitarian conditions on the ground and their commitment to the welfare of the Ethiopian people.
More than eleven months of fighting have left an estimated six to seven million people facing severe food insecurity. More than two million people have fled their homes and up to 900,000 people are facing famine-like conditions in Tigray, where people are going multiple days without food and have resorted to eating leaves. The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia, providing more than $663 million since the crisis began, including more than $26 million in additional humanitarian assistance announced today. The U.S. is committed to continuing to provide humanitarian assistance to all Ethiopians affected by this conflict.
Participants agreed on the urgency of finding solutions to a complicated set of challenges facing humanitarians and international donors, and acknowledged that the ongoing spread of the conflict underscored the need for the U.S. and our partners to consider different approaches for meeting these challenges. Achieving the most urgently-needed objectives—the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian access to civilians in Tigray and the negotiation of a cease-fire among all parties—will require coordinated action. Donors reinforced their support for the efforts of African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo, who met today with Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Participants also discussed the importance of the upcoming meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council on October 18 to better align EU member states around actions necessary to shift the parties to this conflict toward a negotiated political agreement.
The United States and our donor partners condemned the dangerous vilification of humanitarian workers and spread of misinformation about the realities civilians are experiencing on the ground, and demanded an end to the continued harassment and intimidation of aid workers by various parties to the conflict.
Donors agree that innocent Ethiopian lives depend upon the Government of Ethiopia immediately reestablishing communications, banking, and other vital services within Tigray, and fully restoring transport corridors and air linkages to Tigray. This includes allowing desperately needed fuel, medicines, and medical supplies into the region, all of which have in effect been blocked by the government for the last two months. Without immediate changes in this regard, humanitarian organizations are being forced to scale back or halt their programs, and hospitals and health centers have run out of medical supplies. The United States and its partners discussed the possibility of augmenting road operations—which are failing to meet urgent humanitarian needs due to government obstruction—by expanding air operations to deliver relief supplies directly to the region.
Participants condemned the Government of Ethiopia’s unprecedented expulsion of UN officials from the country, and agreed that the decision should be reversed. This action undermines international efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to millions of people whose lives depend on it. Donors stressed that humanitarian assistance is provided based on needs and on the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence—principles that the UN and the broader humanitarian community are upholding in Ethiopia in their attempts to deliver lifesaving aid to people in desperate need.
Finally, the participants discussed the importance of accountability for the victims of the conflict and the potential for the forthcoming joint report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to provide recommendations for how to end impunity for those most responsible for atrocities, including widespread sexual violence and extrajudicial killings.
Source: Reuters
U.S. considering options for responding to crisis in northern Ethiopia -State Dept
A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia’s National Defense Force (ENDF) and Tigray Special Forces stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The United States is considering the full range of tools at its disposal, including the use of economic sanctions, to respond to the worsening crisis in northern Ethiopia, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.
Ethiopia’s national army launched a ground offensive against forces from the northern region of Tigray on Monday, the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said. read more
Secretary of State Antony Blinken held high-level meetings on Ethiopia on Tuesday, including with officials from the African Union, Sudan, the UK, France, Germany and the European Union.
Washington, the EU, France, Germany and the UK called on the parties to immediately enter into negotiations toward a ceasefire and end abuses.
“They also called on the parties to the conflict to adhere to international law and allow unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to all who are suffering in Ethiopia,” Price said in a statement.
Washington has repeatedly called for a negotiated end to the conflict in the northern region of Tigray between federal forces and those aligned with the TPLF.
Since the conflict erupted in November, thousands have been killed and more than 2 million have fled their homes. Fighting spread in July from Tigray into the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.