Ethiopia on Monday rejected a call from the United States to pull regional forces out of the country’s Tigray region, and defended the deployment of some of those troops amid reports of human rights violations. The exchange between Ethiopia and the US comes after investigations were published by CNN and Amnesty International into the massacre of civilians in two separate assaults in Tigray late last year. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry criticized Blinken’s remarks on Monday. “An attempt by the US to make pronouncements on Ethiopia’s internal affairs and specifically, the reference to the Amhara regional forces redeployment … is regrettable,” the ministry said, referring to forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara state, which neighbors Tigray. “It should be clear that such matters are the sole responsibility of the Ethiopian government, which as a sovereign nation, is responsible to deploy the necessary security structures and means available in ensuring the rule of law within all corners of its borders.” The foreign ministry said it was “fully committed” to investigating any human rights violations.
SOURCE: CNN