WASHINGTON THREATENS NEW SANCTIONS OVER FIGHTING IN ETHIOPIA’S TIGRAY REGION

US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday allowing for sanctions against the warring parties in Ethiopia’s Tigray region if they fail to commit to a negotiated settlement.

In a statement, Biden called the situation a tragedy and said: “I am appalled by the reports of mass murder, rape, and other sexual violence to terrorize civilian populations.”

The executive order establishes a “sanctions regime to increase pressure on the parties fueling this conflict to sit down at the negotiating table and, in the case of Eritrea, withdraw forces,” a senior administration official said.

The United States is not imposing sanctions now but is giving itself the authority to do so if necessary, this official said.

The order gives the Treasury Department “the necessary authority” to sanction the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front among other parties, the statement says.

Source: National News Agency