Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times  /  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy  at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. March 3, 2020 speaks on progress in  U.S. – Africa Policy.

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC TIMES

America’s  top diplomat for Africa Tibor Nagy says the U.S.  strongly urges an immediate de-escalation of tensions, a cessation of hostilities, and a return to peace amid the worsening military conflict in Ethiopia.  Nagy,  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs ,  spoke during a briefing  Thursday with the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael A. Raynor  on the Situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. Ambassador Nagy also said the protection and security of all civilians, particularly U.S. citizens,  is essential.

“Our top priority is ensuring the welfare, protection, and security of U.S. citizens. The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa continues to work closely with the United Nations and others to relocate U.S. citizens in Tigray, as conditions permit.”

-Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy  

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo this week strongly condemned the attack carried out by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on the airport in Asmara, Eritrea over the weekend. 

 “We are deeply concerned by this blatant attempt by the TPLF to cause regional instability by expanding its conflict with Ethiopian authorities to neighboring countries. We also continue to denounce the TPLF’s November 13 missile attacks on the Bahir Dar and Gondar airports in Ethiopia.” 

-U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo

TPLF Seeks to internationalize The Conflict:  Ambassador  Nagy

Ambassador Nagy said as of Thursday, the fighting in Tigray continues, and events last weekend suggest that the TPLF seeks to internationalize the conflict.  “The TPLF leadership has admitted responsibility for the November 13 missile launches at airports in Bahir Dar and Gondar, in the Amhara region, and the November 14 attack in Eritrea. These unacceptable attacks make the situation more dangerous, and the Secretary condemned them in his most recent statement,”  Nagy commented. 

Ethiopia conflict threatens to spillover into  Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea 

“Ethiopia, most especially since Prime Minister Abiy has taken power, is the linchpin in the region, of course, with over a hundred million people and a 2,000-year-old history as a state – the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa that was never colonized. It is a key strategic partner for the United States. It’s a land that’s also the largest landlocked country on earth, Djibouti critically important because the Port of Djibouti is the main source for all overland transport to Ethiopia.  Ethiopians have been very much involved in trying to re-establish the state in Somalia by contributing both to AMISOM, the peacekeeping operation, but also providing some additional troops, because Ethiopia itself has a large region which is inhabited by ethnic Somalis. The other borders – South Sudan, Sudan – Sudan and Ethiopia, of course, have a long, long history of their relations, and the Sudanese have provided refuge for Ethiopians fleeing a whole series of conflicts in Ethiopia going back to the time of the emperor.”     -Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy

“This situation Absolutely Breaks my Heart”    – Ambassador Nagy 

Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times  /  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy  speaks on  the Trump Administration’s Africa Policy at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. March 3, 2020. 

Nagy,  who spent his entire career working in Africa or on African issues,  previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia from 1999-2002.  

“This situation absolutely breaks my heart. I had several tours in Ethiopia, including ambassador during the Ethio-Eritrean War. Just like Ambassador Raynor, I know the region very well. We have the highest regard, admiration for the people of Ethiopia and especially for the Tigrayans who suffered the most during that war.”

-Ambassador  Nagy 

U.S. Ambassador To Ethiopia Says Neighboring Countries Concerned With Security

et.usembassy.gov/   Michael A. Raynor, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia

“Certainly, our embassies in the region are engaging with their host countries, coordinating perceptions, talking about possible approaches towards solutions. And as Tibor mentioned that Ethiopia is basically a net exporter of security to the broader region, and so there have been expressions of concerns by neighboring countries about what the current dynamics might mean for their stability as well. And in terms of the Sudan generosity in hosting refugees, just to note that already that’s over 35,000 refugees at a rate that had been between 4- and 5,000 a day. That seems to have gone down a bit over the last day or so to about 1,500 a day. So we don’t know that that suggests any trend. But certainly, we’re gauging that the countries in the region are looking very hard at having to play a constructive role in fostering peace and a quick end to the conflict.”

-Michael A. Raynor, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia

Neither Party is Interested in Mediation:  Ambassador  Nagy

“At this point, neither party, from everything we hear, is interested in mediation.  However, having said that, I think it’s also very important to keep in mind that on the one hand, everybody focuses on the military campaign. But alongside the military campaign, there are indications that there’s very much a political campaign going on within Ethiopia, because you talk about Tigrayans; Tigrayans are not the enemy, and the Ethiopian Government acknowledges this very strongly that Tigrayans are one of the many ethnic groups in Ethiopia,” Ambassador Nagy said. 

“The U.S. Government is doing everything possible to end the conflict, to return to peace, to urge for the protection of civilians. We’ve called for restoring communications. It’s not the United States Government that has to stop the fighting. It’s the two sides that are going to have to stop the fighting. So when it comes to stopping the fighting, as I have to say, it’s the people engaged in the fighting that have to stop the fighting.”

-Ambassador  Nagy