US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairperson calls on Ethiopian Prime to order ‘Eritrean mercenaries’ out of Ethiopia 

Mohamed Samir
2 Min Read
Ethiopian Army soldiers stand as a pick-up truck with militia men passes by at Mai Aini Refugee camp, in Ethiopia, on January 30, 2021. - Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia fear their suffering may not be over, as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed strains to end a brutal conflict in the northern region of Tigray that has rendered them uniquely vulnerable. Nearly 100,000 refugees from Eritrea, an oppressive, authoritarian nation bordering Ethiopia to the north, were registered in four camps in Tigray when fighting erupted in November between Abiy's government and the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP) (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images)

US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on the parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia to immediately cease hostilities, and for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy to ‘order his Eritrean mercenaries’ out of Ethiopia and lift his cruel blockade of Tigray. 

Menendez also called on both the Ethiopian government and the TPLF to commit to renewed peace talks without pre-condition.

In a statement, he called for an immediate ceasefire in northern Ethiopia and accountability for perpetrators of human rights abuses following the resumption of hostilities between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in August 2022 after a five-month ceasefire.

In August the fighting resumed as Ethiopian air forces bombed the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region. The region’s local tv station said that the attack has hit kindergarten called Red Kids Paradise in the Tigrayan capital of Mekele.

Menendez said that conflict, famine, and lack of medical care in northern Ethiopia have already cost the lives of an estimated half a million people in Tigray alone since fighting began in northern Ethiopia in November 2020, and the collapse of the short-lived ceasefire between parties puts the lives of many more Ethiopians in jeopardy. 

The US Senator added that in the absence of a ceasefire, I plan to pursue Senate passage of my Ethiopia Peace and Democracy Promotion Act of 2021, which would impose punitive measures on those undermining efforts to end hostilities or those providing weapons to parties involved in hostilities in Ethiopia. 

“More than a year after issuing Executive Order 14046, the Biden administration has yet to sanction any Ethiopians, and the fighting and abuses have now resumed. The Secretary of State should make a determination relative to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide without further delay, and impose immediate sanctions on those who committed such acts. Those found guilty of abuses during the course of the conflict must be held accountable without further delay.”

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Mohamed Samir Khedr is an economic and political journalist, analyst, and editor specializing in geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean. For the past decade, he has covered Egypt's and the MENA region's financial, business, and geopolitical updates. Currently, he is the Executive Editor of the Daily News Egypt, where he leads a team of journalists in producing high-quality, in-depth reporting and analysis on the region's most pressing issues. His work has been featured in leading international publications. Samir is a highly respected expert on the Middle East and Africa, and his insights are regularly sought by policymakers, academics, and business leaders. He is a passionate advocate for independent journalism and a strong believer in the power of storytelling to inform and inspire. Twitter: https://twitter.com/Moh_S_Khedr LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohamed-samir-khedr/