Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States is “gravely concerned” regarding reported human rights abuses in Ethiopia‘s Tigray region, which has been embattled in conflict for months.
Reports of Ethiopia’s abuses have been widely reported in news outlets, including reports of bullet-wounded bodies laying in the streets of the country’s holiest city for days, prompting hyenas to feed on the corpses.
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“We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray. We are also deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis,” Blinken said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Blinken called for an independent, international investigation into “all reports of human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities,” calling for all responsible parties to be held accountable.
The secretary noted that essential first steps would be the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from the Tigray region and urged the Ethiopian government to allow the unhindered delivery of assistance to civilians in Tigray.
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Humanitarian officials have warned that a growing number of people may be starving to death in Tigray, according to the Associated Press.
Ethiopia’s Tigray region has been in the midst of chaos as the country’s central government and regional officials both believe each other’s governments are illegitimate after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted its elections.
