New US sanctions target Eritrea over Ethiopia’s Tigray war
NAIROBI, Kenya – The United States on Monday imposed new sanctions over Ethiopia's deadly Tigray conflict as hundreds of thousands of people face famine conditions under a government blockade the U.S. has called a “siege” and fighting spreads into other parts of the country.
The Treasury Department in a statement said the chief of staff of the defense forces of neighboring Eritrea, Filipos Woldeyohannes, was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for leading an entity accused of “despicable acts” including massacres, widespread sexual assault and the executions of boys. The statement again calls on Eritrea to remove its soldiers from Ethiopia's Tigray region permanently.
The nine-month war has killed thousands of people and left observers shocked as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, teamed up with former enemy Eritrea to wage war on the Tigray forces, with civilians not spared.