Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is deeply concerned by the reports of worsening conflicts in the Tigray region in Northern Ethiopia, particularly around Shire.
An International Rescue Committee (IRC) employee was killed in the recent attack on Shire while delivering humanitarian aid to women and children, AP News reported Oct.15.
“The United States is deeply concerned over reports of increasing violence, loss of life, indiscriminate targeting of civilians and destruction in the conflict in northern Ethiopia, particularly around Shire in the Tigray region,” Blinken said, according to an Oct. 14 news release.
He said they are calling on the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and Eritrean Defense Forces to stop their military offensive and for Eritrea to withdraw its forces from northern Ethiopia, according to the release. He also said they are asking for the Tigrayan Defense Forces to stop its provocative actions.
“The fighting since the Aug. 24 operation by the Tigrayan Defense Forces near Kobo in the Amhara Region contributed to the return to hostilities, which greatly increases the risk of atrocities and further human rights abuses. It is incumbent on all armed actors to respect and protect civilians, and we call on them to allow unhindered humanitarian access to all Ethiopians in need,” Blinken said in the release. “We reiterate that the government of Ethiopia and Tigray regional authorities should immediately cease all hostilities and participate seriously in the forthcoming African Union-led peace talks. The United States is fully engaged with the African Union, the governments of Kenya and South Africa and other international and regional partners to organize and mediate peace talks as soon as possible.”
Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat called for an “immediate, unconditional ceasefire” in an Oct. 16 statement on Twitter and urged the warring parties to recommit to their agreement to participate in a dialogue. He asked the parties to recommit to dialogue under an agreement for direct talks in South Africa.
Shire and other Tigrayan town have been struck by multiple airstrikes since conflict resumed in late August between Ethiopia's federal government and Tigray forces, AP News reported. Both parties pledged to participate in African Union-sponsored peace talks which were scheduled to take place in South Africa last week. However, the talks were postponed due to logistical and technical issues. Despite the claims to begin discussing peace, the fighting rages in Northern Ethiopia.
The IRC worker who died had been delivering humanitarian aid to women and children when a deadly explosion went off in Shire on Friday, AP News reported. Another worker was wounded in the attack, according to an IRC statement.
This is the second IRC employee to die in the war in the Tigray region, AP reports. An IRC employee was killed in the Hitsats refugee camp near Shire in December 2020.
According to AP News, the new wave of fighting has brought humanitarian aid deliveries to an abrupt halt, cutting off 5 million people who are in urgent need of humanitarian help.
