US Sanctions Eritrean Military Over Role in Ethiopia War

The United States has sanctioned the Eritrean military and the country’s ruling party over role in ongoing Ethiopian war.

In a statement on Friday, the US Treasury Department said it was sanctioning the Eritrean Defence Forces and the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, as well as other individuals and entities for “contributing to the crisis and conflict” in Ethiopia.

According to the department, the presence of the Eritrean military “is an impediment to ending the ongoing fighting and increasing humanitarian access”.

“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,” Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M Gacki said.

Conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government started a year ago.

So dire is the situation that the government declared a state of emergency earlier this month after the rebels made a move on the capital, Addis Ababa.

Since last year, over two million people have been displaced and thousands killed.