US warns of more sanctions as UN, AU urge talks in Ethiopia’s Tigray

ADDIS ABABA (Somaliguardian) – The United States said it has tools to sanction more leaders in Ethiopia, while the United Nations and African Union urged restraint, after Tigrayan forces seized the airport in Tigray’s capital Mekelle on Wednesday.

Tigray’s regional government said its forces had entered a “defensive war” after federal attacks. Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said Tigrayan fighters had taken federally administered airports and launched offensives in the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire.

U.S. Ambassador Ervin Massinga said the leadership of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which Washington sanctioned earlier this year, had decided to launch a large-scale offensive. He said rejecting African Union-sponsored dialogue under former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and pursuing an “unwinnable fight” did nothing for the people. He warned other armed groups against joining the fighting.

Massinga said political dialogue remained the right course. His statement did not specify the earlier sanctions. The State Department imposed visa restrictions on TPLF hardliners and their immediate family members without naming them.

The U.S. Embassy barred government personnel from travelling to the Tigray and Afar regions and advised U.S. citizens there to shelter in place. Washington also condemned a reported drone strike on a Catholic Relief Services aid convoy in Tigray and called for a full investigation.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to show maximum restraint, protect civilians and allow unhindered humanitarian access. He urged them to avoid actions that could lead to a “broader and more devastating conflict,” his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Guterres also backed African Union efforts, including Obasanjo’s engagement, and urged good-faith talks under the Pretoria agreement.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf cited the seizure of the airports at Mekelle, Axum and Shire and the detention of federal personnel by the TPLF. He said the seizures were inconsistent with Pretoria obligations and called for direct talks without delay.

Youssouf asked Obasanjo, the AU’s High Representative for the Horn of Africa, to engage the parties. He urged Ethiopia’s neighbours to refrain from actions that could add to the escalation. He did not name any country.

The regional bloc IGAD also called for immediate de-escalation. The European Union cited both the airport takeover and drone strikes by Ethiopia’s army in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the TPLF said Obasanjo’s mediation lacked neutrality and concrete proposals, and questioned whether it was independent of the federal government. Obasanjo’s office rejected the claims of bias. Massinga and the U.S. mission to the AU had welcomed Obasanjo’s involvement after his August engagement in Mekelle.

The 2022 Pretoria agreement ended a two-year war in which the African Union has estimated about 600,000 people were killed. More than one million remain displaced.

The TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups days earlier, aimed at removing Abiy’s government. The Ethiopian government has accused the alliance of receiving Eritrean support. Eritrea has previously denied such allegations

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