U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the African Union and other international partners to help address a deepening crisis in Ethiopia\u2019s northern Tigray region as he condemned alleged atrocities in fighting there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blinken\u2019s statement suggested growing frustration with the response so far from Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea to what America\u2019s top diplomat described as a \u201cworsening humanitarian crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarks came a day after Amnesty International released a report accusing Eritrean forces of killing hundreds of civilians in Tigray in a 24-hour period last year, an incident it described as a potential crime against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eritrea rejected the accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe ask international partners, especially the African Union and regional partners, to work with us to address the crisis in Tigray, including through action at the U.N. and other relevant bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s federal army ousted the former local ruling party, the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF), from the regional capital Mekelle in November, but low-level fighting has continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thousands of people have died, hundreds of thousands have been forced from homes and there are shortages of food, water and medicine around the region of more than 5 million people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ethiopia and Eritrea have denied that Eritrean troops participated in the conflict, though dozens of witnesses, diplomats and an Ethiopian general have reported their presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the state-run Ethiopian Human Rights Commission released a statement on Friday timed to coincide with the Amnesty report, saying preliminary investigations indicated that Eritrean soldiers had killed an unknown number of civilians in Axum, an ancient city in northern Ethiopia. It said the killings were in retaliation for an earlier attack by TPLF soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amnesty said Eritrean soldiers executed men and boys in the streets and engaged in extensive looting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blinken noted Ethiopian commitments to full accountability, including international support for investigations into human rights abuses and to allowing unhindered humanitarian access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey should be accompanied by unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict and a commitment to permit unhindered delivery of assistance to those in Tigray.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the African Union and other international partners to help address a deepening crisis in Ethiopia\u2019s northern Tigray region as he condemned alleged atrocities in fighting there. Blinken\u2019s statement suggested growing frustration with the response so far from Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea to what America\u2019s top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":22030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[356,98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-22029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-story","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n