US Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer will travel to Ethiopia this weekend to discuss the conflict and humanitarian crisis in the country's northern Tigray and Amhara regions, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2022) US Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer will travel to Ethiopia this weekend to discuss the conflict and humanitarian crisis in the country's northern Tigray and Amhara regions, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.
"President Biden's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Mike Hammer, will travel to Ethiopia starting this weekend to engage on the crisis in Northern Ethiopia. Special Envoy Hammer will convey that all parties should halt military operations and engage in peace talks," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing.
The United States condemns the re-entry of Eritrea into the conflict, as well as the Ethiopian government's recent airstrikes, Jean-Pierre also said.
Last month, the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a paramilitary group designated as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government, accused Addis Ababa of attacking their positions in the Amhara region.
Ethiopia has experienced violent internal conflict since November 2020, when the central government accused the TPLF of attacking a military base and subsequently launched an anti-terrorist operation in the region.
In June 2021, the rebels of the TPLF seized the city of Mekelle, the administrative regional center of Tigray, and the government declared an unconditional ceasefire. However, the rebels launched a new offensive soon after and took control of the southern part of Tigray and the neighboring Amhara region.
The ongoing conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people and caused a dire humanitarian crisis in the country. The humanitarian situation has been worsened by recent drought conditions in the region.
The US is concerned about the seizure of humanitarian assistance for military use, Jean-Pierre added.
The US is set to provide $80 million to the Food and Agriculture Organization to strengthen food security around the world, including in Ethiopia. A ship carrying 23,300 metric tons of grain from Ukraine also arrived in Djibouti earlier this week and will be distributed throughout Ethiopia and Somalia.
