Ethiopia, Eritrea Slam 'Defamatory' Claims By U.S. On Tigray War

On March 21, 2023, the Ethiopian government dismissed a report by the U.S. State Department determining atrocities committed in Ethiopia's two-year war that started in the Tigray region and spread to Amhara and Afar regions as "untimely", "selective", and "inflammatory". It also said the report "unfairly apportions blame".

The Eritrean government also on March 21, 2023 said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, yet again raised unsubstantiated and defamatory accusations against the Eritrean Defence Forces in relation to the two-year conflict in north Ethiopia, triggered by the TPLF's (Tigray People's Liberation Front) deplorable war of insurrection and choice.

On the same day, the UN Human Rights Council warned that the gravity and scale of the violations committed in Ethiopia since the outbreak of war must not be forgotten, despite all the positive developments and relatively improved security that have seen in Tigray after both parties signed agreement, Addis Standard reports.

The northern Ethiopian region has been the centre of a battle for control between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the current administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, since November 2020.

A peace deal has since been struck between Ethiopia and Tigray, and a probe into atrocities allegedly committed by Eritrean soldiers in Tigray, is under way.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government on March 22, 2023 delisted Tigray from a terrorist designation.