Translated by Ingy Ashraf
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concern about the situation in Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia and emphasized the necessity to encourage a peaceful solution through political dialogue and ensuring the protection of human rights. In a declaration, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed discussed in a phone call the security challenges in the Horn of Africa and their shared goal for a unified, peaceful, and prosperous Ethiopia.
Secretary Blinken indicated concerns about the situation in the Amhara and Oromia regions and emphasized to the Prime Minister the importance of improving humanitarian access to allow the resumption of food aid. According to the declaration, Blinken welcomed for ongoing work to establish a “genuine, credible, and inclusive transitional justice process”.
Amhara region has been witnessing armed violence since April last year, which erupted after the federal government announced its intention to disband the “special forces” in the country, which are armed units established by some regions 15 years ago. Amhara nationalists think that this decision could weaken their region.
The situation in Amhara threatens to destabilize the neighboring Tigray region, nine months after a peace agreement was reached there that ended a two year bloody conflict, in which militiamen and “special forces” in Amhara provided decisive support to the Ethiopian army against Tigrayan rebels.
