US Concerned About Increasing Political, Ethnic Polarization in Ethiopia

WASHINGTON - The United States is deeply concerned about increasing political and ethnic polarization throughout Ethiopia, the U.S. State Department said Friday, adding that Washington will work with allies to secure a cease-fire in the Tigray region, provide assistance and hold human rights abusers accountable. 

Jeffrey Feltman, the newly appointed U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, returned from his first trip to the region Thursday, where he visited Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.  Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands more forced from their homes in the Tigray region since November, when the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched attacks on Ethiopian forces. Ethiopian troops and soldiers from neighboring Eritrea have been accused of massacres in their fight against the rebel group.  Ethiopia says it is committed to investigating human rights violations and both countries have promised a withdrawal of Eritrean troops.