(Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe)  President Biden has appointed former UN  Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman as the new U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Apr. 23, 2021.

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman is traveling to Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan amid rising tensions in those nations.   Feltman, a former United Nations official and seasoned diplomat,  was appointed by President Biden  as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa region last month.   The appointment came amid growing U.S. concern over the volatile situation in Ethiopia, including the conflict in Tigray; escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan.  Special Envoy Feltman will hold meetings with officials from the respective governments as well as the United Nations and the African Union, according to the State Department. Feltman  will also meet with a range of political stakeholders and humanitarian organizations. The Special Envoy’s travel underscores the Administration’s commitment to lead a sustained diplomatic effort to address the interlinked political, security, and humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa, and he will coordinate U.S. policy across the region to advance that goal, the State Department said.  Feltman began his travels Tuesday and will conclude May 13. 

ERITREA-

The Special Envoy’s  travel to  war-torn Eritrea is the first time in a number of years that a senior American official has been allowed to meet with senior Eritrean officials. 

U.S. officials have been urging an end to the conflict there and are calling for allied Eritrean troops to withdraw from the region.