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The Eritrean foreign minister accuses the Biden administration of further fueling conflict and destabilization in northern Ethiopia.
The Eritrean foreign minister blamed US administrations that have supported the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) over the past 20 years for the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, adding that blaming Eritrea for the fighting was baseless.
In a letter to the UN Security Council released on Monday, Osman Saleh accused President Joe Bidens’ administration of fueling conflict and destabilization through meddling and intimidation in the region, apparently to resuscitate the remnants of the TPLF regime.
The TPLF led the coalition that ruled Ethiopia for nearly 30 years until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018.
Abiy further alienated the TPLF by making peace with longtime enemies, Eritrea upon taking office, and tensions were mounting.
Last November, Abiy sent troops to the area to arrest and disarm the group’s leaders, claiming it was in response to TPLF attacks on Federal Army camps.
Although he promised that military operations would be short, nearly seven months later, fighting continues, reports of atrocities mount and world leaders warn of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Thousands of people are estimated to have been killed in the war which has left a third of the regions fleeing six million people.
The UN on Friday warned that famine was imminent in Tigray and northern Ethiopia, saying there was a risk that hundreds of thousands of people would die.
Mark Lowcock, the UN humanitarian chief, said in a statement that the economy has been destroyed along with businesses, crops and farms and that there are no banking or telecommunications services.
Eritrean troops
Eritrean forces have also been accused of committing atrocities with Ethiopian troops in Tigray.
Saleh’s letter makes no mention of Eritrean troops in Tigray, despite international calls for them to withdraw.
Eritrea did not recognize until April that its forces were involved in the months-long war in Tigray. Following this, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry announced that Eritrean forces had started withdrawing from Tigray after fighting alongside the government.
Numerous witnesses, rape survivors, officials and aid workers said Eritrean soldiers were spotted far from the border, sometimes dressed in faded Ethiopian army fatigues and controlling main roads and access to some. communities.
In April, Eritrean soldiers opened fire on civilians in Tigray, killing three people and injuring at least 19, according to global rights watchdog Amnesty International.
The Ethiopian government considers the TPLF fighters to be terrorists who have challenged the authority of Abiys. But recent atrocities appear to have increased support for the TPLF.
Saleh accused the TPLF of waging a disinformation campaign to cover up its illicit schemes to arm itself and topple the Abiys government.
He urged the UN Security Council to take appropriate action to redress the injustice.
Saleh also criticized the recent announcement by the US State Department on visa restrictions for current and former government and military officials in Eritrea and Ethiopia, saying it was only the latest in a series of unilateral acts of intimidation and interference.
Less than two weeks ago, more than 10,000 Ethiopians also protested the US stance on their country.
The demonstration in Addis Ababa organized by the Ethiopian authorities said Ethiopia does not need Western intervention.
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