The US State Department has urged American citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately.
- The U.S. State Department stated that it has no plans to allow U.S. troops to fly into Ethiopia to facilitate the evacuation.
- It said it is providing repatriation loans to citizens who do not have the funds to leave.
- One year after clashes between the federal government and forces allied with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front erupted, Ethiopia declared a state of emergency.
The US State Department on Tuesday again urged American citizens in Ethiopia to leave the country immediately, adding that as Washington increases pressure to end the conflict in Ethiopia, the United States has no plans to assist the evacuation through military or commercial aircraft.
The United States recommended this month that American citizens in Ethiopia leave the country as soon as possible, and provide repatriation loans for those who do not have the funds to leave.
A senior U.S. State Department official told reporters: “There are no plans to fly U.S. troops into Ethiopia to facilitate evacuation or to replicate our recent emergency efforts in Afghanistan. This is a unique situation for many reasons.”
The United Nations said on Tuesday that at least 1,000 people were detained in cities across Ethiopia in the past week, most of whom were from Tigray.
Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on November 2, and a year later the federal government clashed with forces allied with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a political party that controls northern Tigray.
The statement is valid for six months, allowing suspects to be detained without trial for the duration of the state of emergency, and allowing house-to-house searches without a search warrant.
The second senior official of the US State Department stated that the African Union Horn of Africa special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo plans to return to Ethiopia in the next few days.
The official said that the United States will consult with its partners and evaluate how it supports Obasanjo, including whether it makes sense for the U.S. envoy, Jeffrey Feltman, to return home.
Washington last week imposed sanctions on the Eritrean army and other Eritrean individuals and entities, and warned that it was prepared to take action against other parties to the conflict.
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