Source: US State Department
Travel by U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman
The Horn of Africa is at an inflection point, and the decisions that are made in the weeks and months ahead will have significant implications for the people of the region as well as for U.S. interests. The United States is committed to addressing the interlinked regional crises and to supporting a prosperous and stable Horn of Africa in which its citizens have a voice in their governance and governments are accountable to their citizens.
A sovereign and united Ethiopia is integral to this vision. Yet we are deeply concerned about increasing political and ethnic polarization throughout the country. The atrocities being perpetrated in Tigray and the scale of the humanitarian emergency are unacceptable. The United States will work with our international allies and partners to secure a ceasefire, end this brutal conflict, provide the life-saving assistance that is so urgently needed, and hold those responsible for human rights abuses and violations accountable. The crisis in Tigray is also symptomatic of a broader set of national challenges that have imperiled meaningful reforms. As Special Envoy Feltman discussed with Prime Minister Abiy and other Ethiopian leaders, these challenges can most effectively be addressed through an inclusive effort to build national consensus on the country’s future that is based on respect for the human and political rights of all Ethiopians. The presence of Eritrean forces in Ethiopia is antithetical to these goals. In Asmara, Special Envoy Feltman underscored to President Isaias Afwerki the imperative that Eritrean troops withdraw from Ethiopia immediately.
The political transition in Sudan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that can serve as an example for the region. As Special Envoy Feltman underscored to Sudan’s leadership, the United States will continue to support that country’s ongoing transition to democracy so that Sudan can claim its place as a responsible regional actor after three decades as a destabilizing force. We are also committed to working with international partners to facilitate resolution of regional flash points—such as the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and conflict on Sudan’s borders—so they do not undermine the fragile progress made since the revolution.
As Special Envoy Feltman discussed with leaders in Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Khartoum, Egypt and Sudan’s concerns over water security and the safety and operation of the dam can be reconciled with Ethiopia’s development needs through substantive and results-oriented negotiations among the parties under the leadership of the African Union, which must resume urgently. We believe that the 2015 Declaration of Principles signed by the parties and the July 2020 statement by the AU Bureau are important foundations for these negotiations, and the United States is committed to providing political and technical support to facilitate a successful outcome.
The Special Envoy will return to the region in short order to continue an intensive diplomatic effort on behalf of President Biden and Secretary Blinken.
more wet noodle whipping from the US, while they give defacto despotic dictator enthic genocide/oppression support. Nice humanitarian/democracy lip service… Same exact thing they did on the Ruanda genocide….
Ethiopian and Eritrean forces commited crimes against humanity in Tigray. Therefore, action must be taken agains these forces now without delay. These forces are also using food aid as weapon of war to wipe the people of Tigray off Earth face. If the world does not act now to save the life of the innocent civil population in Tigray, tommorow can be too late.
Please act NOW!!!
The withdrawal of Eritrean troops is crucial to end the suffering to Tigray people. Eritrean troops must withdraw immediately as stated but what are the mechanisms that guarantee this statement? Dictator Issayas doesn’t understand diplomatic avenues. Issayas is the cause of destabilization in the horn of Africa.
No one will come to support us and should not expect any help from the outside world. But we can do it by ourselves and we are doing it now.
The above press statement from the “Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman” shows that understands the atrocities being perpetrated in Tigray & Humanitarian emergency in Tigray, however, there is not clear action plan to secure a ceasefire in a real time table. He invisioned that a sovereign & united Ethiopia, but it is already broken the line and crossed the redline by allowing to invade your own teritory and people with other foreign country. He mentioned that the meaningful reforms is at risk, there were no plan for a democratic reform from the beginning, this is a journey of dictatorship with alliance of a despotic dictator of Eritrea. We were expecting a tangible action yesterday, not waiting for unknown timeline tomorrow. Please take action now!!!
Negotiations on massacred Tigrian people with the killers will never bring peace to the region. I am surprised how the international community has not learnt from their past mistakes to the crisis that is happening right now has their stakes too. Horn of African people know what and who is behind for their disruptive peace in their region.
I am disappointed with the Biden administration for its extremely soft approach to atrocities in the world. While it is talking a lot of bullshit diplomacies, thousands are being killed, raped, and looted. Trump was decisive and determind.