US House Foreign Affairs Committee Members Condemn Abuses In Ethiopia

Republican and Democratic members of the US House of Representative joined in a bipartisan move to condemn the latest upsurge of violence and human rights abuses in Ethiopia, the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) said on Monday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2021) Republican and Democratic members of the US House of Representative joined in a bipartisan move to condemn the latest upsurge of violence and human rights abuses in Ethiopia, the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) said on Monday.

"We condemn, in the strongest terms, the continued fighting and atrocities ongoing in Tigray and the increasing violence and human rights abuses occurring throughout Ethiopia," the HFAC said in a statement.

The conflict in Tigray had devastated local communities, displaced more than one million people, pushed over five million people into near-famine conditions and destabilized the broader Horn of Africa region, the committee said.

"The continuation of this violence is unacceptable and humanitarian workers must be provided safe, unfettered access to the region to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable communities," the statement said.

The committee called on all parties to the conflict to cease hostilities and engage in an inclusive political dialogue and for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to have full access to investigate human rights violations and atrocities committed in Tigray.

Fighting in the province of Tigray broke out in November after the Ethiopian government accused the local ruling party Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of attacking a regional military base to hijack weapons and arm the anti-government militia. In late 2020, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said that Eritrea, which was technically at war with Ethiopia until 2018, had sent troops across the border in support of Ethiopian government forces.