WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department said on Friday that Washington had decided not to lift the pause for aid to Ethiopia for most security programs, days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Tigray described as ethnic cleansing.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price said that although the United States had decided to resume certain types of aid, including those related to global health and food security, aid for other programs and most programs in the security sector remains discontinued.
“Given the current environment in Ethiopia, we have decided not to cancel assistance for other programs, including most programs in the security sector,” Price said in a newsletter.
TOP US DIPLOMAT SHINES CLAIM CHANGES IN ETHIOPIA’S TILGRAY
Blinken pressured Ethiopia to end the hostilities in Tigray and testified before Congress on Wednesday, saying he wanted to see the Tigray powers of Eritrea and Amhara replaced by security forces “who would not abuse the human rights of the people of Tigray or will not commit acts of ethnic cleansing that we have seen in the western Tigray. ‘
Thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands were forced out of their homes, and there is a shortage of food, water and medicine in the vicinity of more than 5 million people.
In a call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, Blinken discussed the importance of an international inquiry into reported human rights abuses in the region, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
Blinken is also said in the call to have called for “improved regional and international efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis, end atrocities and restore peace in Ethiopia.”
The UN said last week that Eritrean troops were operating in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia, and were reportedly responsible for the atrocities.
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The State Department said last month that Washington would disconnect its disruption to aid to Ethiopia from its policy regarding the Blue Nile giant hydroelectric dam, which sparked a long-running dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
However, according to a State Department representative, the government warned that the resumption of aid would be assessed on a number of factors, including “whether each program that was interrupted remained appropriate and timely.