WASHINGTON/NAIROBI, (Reuters) – The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on the Eritrean military and other Eritrea-based individuals and entities, as Washington warned it was prepared to take action against other parties to the conflict in Ethiopia as it steps up pressure to try to bring an end to fighting.
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted Eritrea’s military, its ruling political party, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ); the party’s economic adviser; and the head of the Eritrean national security office, accusing them of contributing to the conflict in neighboring Ethiopia.
War broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party of Tigray. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, which has since spread into two neighboring regions in northern Ethiopia.
“We condemn the continued role played by Eritrean actors who are contributing to the violence in northern Ethiopia, which has undermined the stability and integrity of the state and resulted in a humanitarian disaster,” Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Groups, said in a statement.
Eritrean information minister Yemane Ghebremeskel, Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that sanctions were not being imposed at this time on the Ethiopian government or the TPLF. But he added that “if the parties fail to make meaningful progress, the United States stands ready to pursue additional sanctions, including against the Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF.”
