US imposes visa limits on Ethiopia over Tigray conflict
May 24, 2021
The United States has announced restrictions on economic and security assistance provided to Ethiopia over fighting in Tigray. Visas will also not be issued to those thought responsible for the crisis.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the actions by the United States are to press for the resolution of the crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
US visa restrictions were also placed on Ethiopian and Eritrean officials accused of contributing to the six-month-old war in Tigray.
"The time for action from the international community is now," Blinken added.
Restrictions targeted "current or former Ethiopian or Eritrean government officials, members of the security forces, or other individuals — to include Amhara regional and irregular forces and members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) — responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution of the crisis in Tigray," Blinken said.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands more forced from their homes in the Tigray region since November.
What is the conflict about?
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali sent troops into the Tigray region, which led to the TPLF launching an attack on the Ethiopian army in November 2020.
The TPLF, which has split from Ethiopia's now-ruling coalition, was once the country's dominant party and carried out an extended war with neighboring Eritrea. Abiy has since been accused of siding with Eritrean forces to pursue the now-fugitive leaders of the TPLF.
Ethiopia: Tigrayans flee as fresh conflict erupts
Tens of thousands of Tigrayans are being driven from their homes by the Amhara militia. The latest conflict was sparked by a historic land dispute. Local towns are struggling to cope with the exodus.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A temporary home
11-year-old Asmara holds her 1-year-old brother Barakat at the doorway to their living space at Tsehaye primary school in the town of Shire, which has been turned into a temporary shelter. Four months after the Ethiopian government declared victory over the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), tens of thousands of Tigrayans are again being forced to flee their homes.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Waiting for food
Displaced Tigrayans queue for food at the temporary shelter. These people weren't driven from their homes by fighting between the Ethiopian government and the rebels. According to witnesses and members of Tigray's new administration, regional forces and militiamen from neighboring Amhara are now violently trying to settle a decades-old land dispute in the Tigray region.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Disputed territory
The town of Adigrat in Tigray, which is also considered a strategically important gateway to Eritrea. Amhara officials say about a quarter of Tigrayan land was taken from them during the almost 30 years that the TPLF dominated power in the region. However, Tigrayan officials say the area is home to both ethnic groups and the borders are set by the constitution.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
On patrol
Ethiopian soldiers on the back of a truck near Adigrat. Fighters from Amhara first entered Tigray in support of federal Ethiopian forces during the TPLF conflict. They have remained in the region since the fighting subsided, with local officials accusing them of driving out Tigrayans.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Basic comforts
A man carries mattresses into the Tsehaye primary school in Shire. The latest territorial dispute threatens to worsen an already precarious humanitarian situation. According to Tewodros Aregai, the interim head of Shire’s northwestern zone, the town was already hosting 270,000 people before the latest influx of refugees and is running out of food and shelter.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
New arrivals
A bus carrying displaced Tigrayans arrives in Shire. It is difficult to verify the exact number of people who have fled in recent weeks, as some have been displaced several times. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says some 1,000 arrive in Shire every day, while the Norwegian Refugee Council says between 140,000-185,000 arrived over a two-week period in March.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
From campus to shelter
Displaced Tigrayans try to make themselves at home at the Shire campus of Aksum University, which has also been turned into a temporary shelter. The four centers set up in the town to house new refugees are almost full. Some families squeeze into classrooms, halls and half-finished buildings, while others make do camping under tarpaulins or on open ground.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Holding loved ones close
A woman holds an infant inside a temporary refugee shelter at the Adiha secondary school in Tigray's capital, Mekelle. Many of the Tigrayans who have fled their homes have described attacks, looting and threats by Amhara gunmen, with some bearing scars from their ordeal.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
An echo of conflict
A burned-out tank near the town of Adwa stands as a stark reminder of the simmering conflict in the Tigray region. The United Nations has already warned of possible war crimes taking place in Tigray, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said ethnic cleansing is taking place and called on Amhara forces to withdraw from Tigray.
Image: Baz Ratner/REUTERS
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Troops from both the Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces have been accused of carrying out abuses against the civilian population in the border region. The international community has called for the restoration of peace, with the UN and US pushing for the withdrawal of troops from the region.
Both the nations have announced the withdrawal of troops, which is yet to take effect.