Biden calls for ceasefire, end to rights abuses in Tigray

US President Joe Biden has condemned the six-month conflict in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region on Wednesday, calling for a ceasefire and an end to human rights abuses.
“I am deeply concerned by the escalating violence and the hardening of regional and ethnic divisions in multiple parts of Ethiopia,” Biden said in a White House statement.
“The large-scale human rights abuses taking place in Tigray, including widespread sexual violence, are unacceptable and must end.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed initially sent troops into Tigray in November after accusing the once-dominant regional ruling party of orchestrating attacks on federal army camps.
Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, declared victory later that month when the army entered the regional capital Mekele.
However, fighting continues and the half-year conflict has sparked allegations of massacres and rape by Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea.
“Belligerents in the Tigray region should declare and adhere to a ceasefire, and Eritrean and Amhara forces should withdraw,” Biden said.
The Amhara region borders Tigray to the south.
Earlier this week, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned the Security Council that “there is a serious risk of famine if assistance is not scaled up in the next two months.”
Consequently, Biden said, “all parties, in particular the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, must allow immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access to the region in order to prevent widespread famine.”
“The government of Ethiopia and other stakeholders across the political spectrum should commit to an inclusive dialogue,” Biden added, urging the country’s leaders and institutions to “promote reconciliation, human rights, and respect for pluralism.”

Biden further said that US special envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman would return to the region next week.

Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke