By Abebe Gellaw
WASHINGTON, EVN (August 4)— US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held a phone conversation with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed amid escalating conflict between federal forces and the Fano paramilitary group in Ethiopia.
Taking to Twitter, Mr. Blinken expressed his satisfaction in speaking with the Ethiopian Prime Minister about “promoting stability in Ethiopia and the region. Advancing peace and prosperity throughout the Horn of Africa is a tenet of U.S. foreign policy.”
State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller released a statement highlighting the topics discussed during the call. “Secretary Blinken noted progress in implementing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in northern Ethiopia and expressed concern regarding the situations in the Amhara and Oromia Regions,” the statement read. The United States played a key role in brokering the Pretoria Peace Agreement between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the federal government.
The Secretary and Prime Minister also deliberated on the resumption of humanitarian aid distribution with strengthened oversight, aiming to restart food aid as soon as possible.
Furthermore, Mr. Blinken conveyed the full support of the United States for a diplomatic resolution concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. He also expressed US support in regional efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan, according to the statement.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Food Program had suspended food aid in Ethiopia following revelations that both the federal government and the regional administration of Tigray were diverting the aid for their benefit and selling it in the open market.
In a briefing to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, USAID chief Samantha Power disclosed initial discoveries of massive theft of food aid in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, indicating possible collusion between parties on both sides.
Earlier today security forces violently detained Christian Tadele, a member of the House of People’s Representatives, despite having immunity from arbitrary arrest as an MP. There are reports of mass arrests in Addis Ababa and other cities.
