US President Joe Biden condemned, on Wednesday, the “unacceptable” violations of human rights in Tigray and called for an immediate ceasefire in the Ethiopian region.
Biden said in a statement that “widespread human rights violations. The scale that is occurring in Tigray, including widespread sexual violence, is unacceptable and must end. ” He added, “The warring parties in the Tigray region must announce a ceasefire, abide by it, and withdraw the Eritrean and Amhara region forces” from Tigray.
He announced that his envoy to the “Horn of Africa” Jeff Feltman will return to the region next week. Biden said in a statement, “I am deeply concerned about the escalation of violence and the exacerbation of regional and ethnic divisions in various parts of Ethiopia.”
He added that “the widespread human rights violations that are occurring in Tigray, including sexual violence. Widespread, unacceptable and must end. ”
The US President stressed that“ the warring parties in the Tigray region must declare a ceasefire and abide by it, and the Eritrean and Amhara region forces must withdraw from Tigray. ”
On Sunday, the United States announced the imposition of restrictions on granting entry visas to Ethiopian and Eritrean officials accusing them of fueling the six-month-old conflict in the Ethiopian Tigray region, noting that these “have not taken concrete measures to end hostilities.”
The United States also announced that it would impose “wide-ranging” restrictions on economic and security assistance to Ethiopia, while affirming that it would continue to provide humanitarian aid in areas such as health, food, and education.
Addis Ababa is an old ally of Washington, but the United States has been expressing its concern increasingly since it launched Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in November launched a large-scale military attack on Tigray to arrest and disarm the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the ruling party in the region.
Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, justified the military operation on the day.
In its attack on Tigray, the federal army camps were attacked, accusing the front of being behind them.
And Ahmed declared victory on November 28, after taking control of Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region.
And although Ahmed pledged at the beginning of the military operation that it would end quickly, but after more than six Months since its start, fighting continues in Tigray, at a time when world leaders warn of a possible humanitarian catastrophe.
On Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expressed “deep concern” about the exposure of hundreds of displaced people to Tigray Region for detention.
Amnesty International and witnesses told France Press on Tuesday that GNU D Ethiopians and Eritreans beat and arrested about 200 displaced civilians in a violent operation that took place Monday night, targeting camps near the city of Shire.
A senior United Nations official warned in a memo. He sent it to the Security Council on Tuesday, that there was a “serious risk of famine” in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, “if the aid was not increased during the next two months,” calling for urgent action.
And Mark Lowcock, an attorney, said. The United Nations Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs: “It is clear that people living in Tigray are now facing a significant increase in food insecurity as a result of the conflict, and that the parties to the conflict are restricting access to food.”
Under a 2018 resolution The United Nations must send an alert to the Security Council when a conflict threatens famine in any region or country.
And the UN official continued: “In the six and a half months that have elapsed since the start of the conflict in Tigray in early November. 2020, an estimated 2 million people were displaced, and civilians were killed and injured. Rape and other heinous forms of sexual violence are widespread and systematic. Infrastructure, public and private facilities necessary for the survival of civilians, including hospitals and agricultural lands were destroyed.
