United States Supports International Efforts to End Conflict in Northern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

Since the outbreak of conflict in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray in November 2020, the international community has attempted to pressure Ethiopia, Eritrea, and regional Tigrayan forces to cease hostilities. The election of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018 “marked the beginning of a political transition” for Ethiopia, which had been governed by a “coalition of ethno-regional parties” called the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 1991.1 The Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) had long dominated the EPRDF, despite the fact that Tigrayans make up only seven percent of Ethiopia's population.2 Repression by the EPRDF prompted several years of protests led by Ethiopia's “largest ethnic group, the Oromo, and by members of the second largest group, the Amhara,”3 and brought Abiy, “the EPRDF's first Oromo leader,” to power with promises of reform.4 Abiy's “government released political prisoners, removed terrorist designations on opposition groups, . . . loosened media and civil society restrictions,” and prosecuted former officials for abuses and corruption.5 Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts, especially his negotiation of an end to a long-running border dispute with Eritrea, which borders the Tigray region.6 There were increasing frictions, however, between Abiy and the TPLF. 16 In an ultimately successful effort to stop the Tigrayan force's advance, Abiy called on civilians to take up arms, went to the front lines, and deployed armed drones reportedly acquired from the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran.17 Amidst improving security conditions, on February 15, Ethiopia's parliament voted to lift the state of emergency declared in November.18 Since the outbreak of the conflict, the international community, including the United States, has repeatedly called on the parties to cease hostilities.19 The African Union (AU) has played a leading role in mediation efforts in the region, deploying AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa region and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.20 Both the United States and the United Nations have expressed support for the AU efforts.21 The need to end the conflict has become more urgent as the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia has deteriorated. 32 The order authorized the secretary of the treasury to impose sanctions on, among others, the governments involved in the conflict, military or security forces operating in northern Ethiopia, and persons engaged in or complicit in human rights abuses, threats to security, obstructing humanitarian assistance, or a variety of other harmful actions in northern Ethiopia.33 The White House framed the sanctions as targeting those “responsible for, or complicit in, prolonging the conflict, obstructing humanitarian access, or preventing a ceasefire,” while promising that the United States would “seek to ensure personal remittances to non-sanctioned persons, humanitarian assistance to at-risk populations, and longer-term assistance programs and commercial activities that address basic human needs continue to flow to Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region through legitimate and transparent channels.”