{"id":1762,"date":"2021-08-29T15:10:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T15:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/?p=1762"},"modified":"2021-08-29T15:10:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-29T15:10:21","slug":"us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses","title":{"rendered":"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Eritrea<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span>The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.<\/p>\n

The move by the US\u00a0treasury\u00a0department against General Filipos Woldeyohannes, chief of staff of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), comes amid reports that Eritrea has sent reinforcements to parts of Tigray as fighting escalates.<\/p>\n

Forces under Filipos\u2019 command are responsible for \u201cmassacres, looting, and sexual assaults,\u201d the treasury department said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cEDF troops have raped, tortured, and executed civilians; they have also destroyed property and ransacked businesses,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EDF have purposely shot civilians in the street and carried out systematic house-to-house searches, executing men and boys, and have forcibly evicted Tigrayan families from their residences and taken over their houses and property.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Eritrea angrily rejected what it called \u201cutterly baseless allegations and blackmail\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not, indeed, the first time for the US administration to float such baseless smear campaigns against Eritrea,\u201d the foreign ministry said. \u201cIn the circumstances, Eritrea calls on the US administration to bring the case to an independent adjudication if it indeed has facts to prove its false allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The treasury department said any property or interests of Woldeyohannes in the US would be frozen and Americans barred from conducting any business with him.<\/p>\n

US secretary of state\u00a0Antony Blinken\u00a0issued a statement saying the US \u201ccondemns in the strongest terms human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia, including those involving the killings, forced removals, and systemic sexual violence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Blinken called on the Eritrean government to \u201cwithdraw its military forces immediately and permanently from Ethiopia\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cAt the same time, the United States continues to urge all parties to the conflict, including the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF), to end abuses against civilians, take steps to de-escalate the conflict, allow for unimpeded humanitarian access, and commit to a negotiated ceasefire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Blinken expressed concern that large numbers of the EDF have re-entered Ethiopia after withdrawing in June.<\/p>\n

He called on the United Nations security council and members of the international community to \u201ccome together to push for a peaceful resolution of this ongoing conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ethiopia\u2019s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, sent troops into Tigray in November to topple the regional ruling party, the TPLF.<\/p>\n

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

For months, the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments denied Eritreans were involved in the fighting, contradicting testimony from residents, rights groups, aid workers, diplomats and even some Ethiopian civilian and military officials.<\/p>\n

Abiy finally acknowledged the Eritreans\u2019 presence in March and vowed soon after that they would leave Tigray.<\/p>\n

Eritrea promised to pull out of the region in April, but that never fully happened.<\/p>\n

The war took a stunning turn in June after pro-TPLF forces \u2014 which were driven out of Tigray\u2019s cities and towns in November \u2014 retook the regional capital, Mekele.<\/p>\n

The TPLF then launched an offensive into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions and vowed to reclaim western and southern Tigray, which were occupied by Amhara forces in the war\u2019s early stages.<\/p>\n

An internal\u00a0European Union\u00a0document dated August 20 said Eritrean troops were \u201cpresent in western Tigray, where they have taken up defensive positions with tanks and artillery around Adi Goshu and Humera, and possibly also along the border with Sudan\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eritrea.The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region. The move by the US\u00a0treasury\u00a0department against General Filipos Woldeyohannes, chief of staff of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), comes amid reports that Eritrea has sent reinforcements to parts of Tigray as fighting escalates. Forces under […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":1763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,12],"tags":[310,439,440],"class_list":["post-1762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-edf","tag-filipos-woldeyohannes","tag-united-states"],"yoast_head":"\nUS sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses - Eritrea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eritrea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-29T15:10:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1068\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1306\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-29T15:10:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\"},\"wordCount\":568,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"EDF\",\"Filipos Woldeyohannes\",\"United States\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\",\"name\":\"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses - Eritrea\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-29T15:10:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg\",\"width\":1068,\"height\":1306},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/\",\"name\":\"Eritrea\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses - Eritrea","description":"The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses","og_description":"The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses","og_site_name":"Eritrea","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2021-08-29T15:10:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1068,"height":1306,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses","datePublished":"2021-08-29T15:10:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses"},"wordCount":568,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg","keywords":["EDF","Filipos Woldeyohannes","United States"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","homepage-english","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses","name":"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses - Eritrea","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-08-29T15:10:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The United States this week imposed sanctions on Eritrea\u2019s army chief for human rights abuses in Ethiopia\u2019s war-scarred\u00a0Tigray\u00a0region.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2021\/08\/23ee4fe3-generalfiliposwoldeyohannes-1068x1306-1.jpg","width":1068,"height":1306},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/policy\/us-sanctions-eritrean-army-chief-over-rights-abuses#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US sanctions Eritrean army chief over rights abuses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/","name":"Eritrea","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}