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Biden Administration Faces Mounting Pressure to Act in Ethiopian Conflict
[Free Beacon] Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the State Department Thursday to demand the Biden administration take immediate action in Ethiopia to combat a humanitarian crisis that has left thousands dead.The protesters called on newly confirmed secretary of state Antony Blinken to prioritize the deteriorating situation in Ethiopia where troops from the federal government—as well as troops from neighboring Eritrea and Somalia—have cracked down on the Tigray region. Protesters said immediate aid is necessary to prevent millions of Tigray residents from starving to death, presenting the days-old Biden administration with its first international crisis. Attendee Makea Araya said the crisis has placed millions in danger and displaced millions more. "We need international actors, we need the Biden administration to take action and allow humanitarian access into the region," Araya said. The conflict puts millions of lives at stake and threatens the religious and cultural heritage of the world's largest religions. Tensions between Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia, and the federal government came to a head when Tigray's leading political party refused to join the Ethiopian government's new coalition in 2019. In early November, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into the region, sparking violent clashes with the region's militia force. While the crisis has been raging for months, limited information has emerged about its true scale since communications have been cut off in the region and foreign media and human-rights watchdogs have not been able to access the region. Reports of the massacre of religious worshipers in a famous Oriental Orthodox church and violence across the region are mounting, however. Posted by: Besoeker 2021-01-29 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=592802 |