US Prez Biden signs executive order to sanction those responsible for Ethiopian conflict

United States President Joe Biden on September 17 signed an executive order to allow fresh sanctions on the sides that were fuelling the conflict in Ethiopia. According to a White House statement released on Friday, Biden said that the order he signed establishes a new sanctions regime that would allow the US government to target the ones who were either responsible or complicit in prolonging the conflict in the foreign nation. He also noted that the situation in Ethiopia has provided the US Treasury Department with “necessary authority”  to hold the government officials accountable.

US President Biden said in a statement, “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...The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Ethiopia and to strengthening the historic ties between our countries.”

He further noted that the “sanctions are not directed at the people of Ethiopia or Eritrea, but rather the individuals and entities perpetrating the violence and driving a humanitarian disaster. We provide Ethiopia with more humanitarian and development assistance than does any other country benefitting all of its regions.”

Ethiopian PM 'won't succumb to pressure'

After the White House had previously threatened to sanction the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other leaders involved in the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region, the latter had said he would not ‘succumb’ to pressure. The 10 months of fighting the Tigray region has pushed hundreds of thousands of people to face famine. As per The Associated Press report, in a letter addressed to Biden, the Ethiopian PM’s office responded by saying that the country would not “succumb to consequences of pressure.”

The 10-month conflict in Tigray has developed from e mere political dispute to a serious war-threatening situation in Ethiopia which is also the second-most populous country in Africa and a major ally of the United States. The situation has further triggered one of the world’s largest hunger crisis in at least 10 years.  

(IMAGE: AP)