U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer  

By  Gary  Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON DC –   U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (SEHOA) Mike Hammer is traveling to Ethiopia and the region this week to press for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the start of peace talks. Ambassador Hammer arrived in Ethiopia Sunday for an 11-day visit during which he will have meetings with Ethiopian government and African Union officials, according to a media note from the U.S. Department of State. In addition to meetings with Ethiopian and AU officials, Special Envoy Hammer will meet with civil society and political actors representing different regions of the country to discuss how best to promote efforts towards a lasting peace, security, and prosperity for all people in Ethiopia, the Department of State said.  Last week saw a collapse of the five-month cease-fire in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region with Ethiopia and Eritrea forces launching a new offensive in Tigray.

“The United States is committed to the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ethiopia”

-Department of State

This is Hammer’s second official visit to Ethiopia as SEHOA as he was there just last month meeting with the same senior Ethiopian and AU representatives to discuss opportunities and efforts to advance peace in Ethiopia and the region with little progress.  The veteran diplomat was selected to succeed Ambassador David Satterfield as SEHOA.  Hammer last served as U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Satterfield stepped  down from his role before summer after less than seven months on the job.  Satterfield had replaced Jeffrey Feltman as the Envoy for the Horn of Africa. Feltman was initially set to take on his diplomatic role for less than a year, according to the Department of State. “However, the ongoing instability in the Horn of Africa and the region’s interlinked political, security, and humanitarian challenges demand sustained focus by the United States,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in announcing Feltman’s departure in January 2022.  

Many are questioning the commitment of  the U.S. to the Horn of Africa as two of its Envoys have departed during the past year alone while the region remains a hot-bed of political instability and military conflict.

Ethiopia has been embroiled in a year-long bloody conflict  that reportedly has killed thousands of people, displaced millions, and created starvation for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians. Sudan, which borders Ethiopia, is also in chaos with the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.  Neighboring Somalia has been wracked by civil war since 1991, and terror organization Al-Shabab continues to conduct attacks in the country.   In February, China appointed senior diplomat Xue Bing to a newly created post of special envoy for the Horn of Africa.