US restricting visas, aid over conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region

The United States is now restricting visas for those accused of fueling the grinding war in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

LONDON -- The United States is now restricting visas for those accused of fueling the grinding war in Ethiopia's Tigray region. "Despite significant diplomatic engagement, the parties to the conflict in Tigray have taken no meaningful steps to end hostilities or pursue a peaceful resolution of the political crisis," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Sunday. "The time for action from the international community is now." Thousands of people are estimated to have died while more than 1 million others are displaced since fighting erupted almost seven months ago between federal troops and rebellious regional forces in Tigray, the northernmost region of Ethiopia. Both sides have been accused of committing atrocities against civilians, with reports of extrajudicial killings, rape and forced evictions. Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution condemning "all violence against civilians" in Tigray and calling for the withdrawal of troops from neighboring Eritrea, which joined the fight in support of Ethiopian forces. In March, Blinken used the term "ethnic cleansing" for the first time to describe the "very credible reports of human rights abuses and atrocities" that he said have been carried out in the western Tigray area.