Ethiopia threatens to ‘review’ US relations in the wake of sanctions

Ethiopia on Monday said that it will reconsider its relationship with the US if America continues to interfere in its internal affairs, Ethiopia was reacting to the US decision to impose visa restrictions on its citizens and to restrict economic and security assistance to Addis Ababa…

The US State Department on Sunday night announced that it had imposed visa restrictions on Ethiopian and Eritrean officials who are fuelling or obstructing proposed resolutions to end the crisis in Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Tigray region.

The restrictions affect members of the security forces of the Amhara region, informal forces and other individuals, as well as members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who are all parties to the conflict.

The State Department said the decision was taken as part of the efforts to end the conflict in Tigray, to have Eritrean troops withdraw from the area, to allow for humanitarian assistance in the area, and to bring the parties involved in the conflict to an agreement.

The Ethiopian government on Monday denied a news report alleging that chemical weapons are being used in the troubled Tigray region.

The report published by UK newspaper The Telegraph says, “civilians in northern Ethiopia have suffered horrific burns consistent with the use of white phosphorus”, a potential war crime.