U.S condemns Tigray killings, demands Eritrean pull-out

GOOBJOOG NEWS|WASHINGTON: The United States has voiced its toughest stance over the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region since it started calling for an end to civilian killings in the region.

Secretary of State Antony Blinkens said in a statement the Biden administration was ‘gravely concerned’ reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia’.

“We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray,” Blinken said in a statement released Saturday.

He reiterated the U.S call for ‘immediate withdrawal’ of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray as a first step towards addressing the spiralling humanitarian crisis in the northern Ethiopian region.

Blibken’s remarks come amid multiple reports of mass civilians killings in the region even as humanitarian access remains largely constrained.” Eritrean troops fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray state systematically killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the northern city of Axum on 28-29 November 2020, opening fire in the streets and conducting house-to-house raids in a massacre that may amount to a crime against humanity,” Amnesty said in a report Friday.

Blinken also called on the African Union to join hands in ending the fighting in Tigray which has since displaced thousands and resulted in mass casualties.

“We 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 UN and other relevant bodies.”