US threatens new sanctions over conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray
Al Jazeera
Biden executive order raises spectre of further sanctions against parties prolonging fighting and humanitarian crisis.
The United States has announced a new sanctions regime related to the continuing conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, threatening to punish those who prolong the fighting and the resulting humanitarian crisis.
An executive order signed by President Joe Biden on Friday allows the US Treasury and State Department to sanction leaders and groups if they do not soon take steps to end the violence.
“The Executive Order I signed today establishes a new sanctions regime that will allow us to target those responsible for, or complicit in, prolonging the conflict in Ethiopia, obstructing humanitarian access, or preventing a ceasefire,” Biden said in a statement, adding that those targeted could include members of the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Amhara regional government.
