US Sanctions Eritrean Defense Official Over Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict

The United States imposed sanctions Monday on a top Eritrean defense official, citing Eritrea’s actions during the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that it is sanctioning Filipos Woldeyohannes, the chief of staff of the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), accusing the forces of carrying out abuses in Tigray. The Treasury Department said the EDF engaged in “despicable acts” in Tigray, including "massacres, looting and sexual assaults." "The EDF have purposely shot civilians in the street and carried out systematic house-to-house searches, executing men and boys, and have forcibly evicted Tigrayan families from their residences and taken over their houses and property," it said.