Ethiopia’s Ongoing Crisis Shows No Signs of Ceasing

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday, expressing his concern about ongoing hostilities in the country and recent airstrikes that killed dozens of civilians in the Tigray region. The White House said the two leaders “discussed ways to accelerate dialogue toward a negotiated ceasefire” after a year of civil war in the country that has left thousands of people dead and forced more than two million from their homes. The White House said Biden stressed “the urgency of improving humanitarian access across Ethiopia, and the need to address the human rights concerns of all affected Ethiopians, including concerns about detentions of Ethiopians under the state of emergency.” The Biden administration gave no indication of Abiy’s reaction to the U.S. leader’s concerns. Biden made the call as aid agencies ceased operations in a northwest area of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, near the border with Eritrea, after an airstrike there late Friday killed 56 civilians displaced by the conflict and wounded 30 others.

SOURCE: VOA