Eritrea army chief sanctioned over alleged atrocities in Tigray

General Filipos Woldeyohannes alias Filipos, is the Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Defense Forces [File Photo]

NAIROBI, Kenya - The US has issued sanctions to Eritrea Chief of Defense Forces, in the latest drastic move which was engineered by the atrocities committed in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where thousands of people died following an operation by Ethiopia National Defense Forces [ENDF].

ENDF received a major reinforcement from Eritrea Defense Forces [EDF] and the Amhara regional forces, in an operation that lasted for over seven months. The Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] would later stamp authority after the invading troops left.

But the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] sanctioned General Filipos Woldeyohannes alias Filipos, the Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Defense Forces for being a leader or official of an entity that is engaged in serious human rights abuse committed during the ongoing conflict in Tigray.

Filipos was designated pursuant to Executive Order [E.O.] 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world, the department said.

“The Treasury Department will continue to take action against those involved in serious human rights abuse around the world, including in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where such acts further exacerbate the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis,” said the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki.

“Today’s action demonstrates the United States’ commitment to imposing costs on those responsible for these despicable acts, which worsen a conflict that has led to tremendous suffering by Ethiopians. We urge Eritrea to immediately and permanently withdraw its forces from Ethiopia, and urge the parties to the conflict to begin ceasefire negotiations and end human rights abuses.”

However, in a rejoinder, Asmara dismissed the move by Washington as "baseless and backward" in a statement that was released on Tuesday. According to authorities in Asmara, the US has repeatedly been raising allegations against the national army for its "selfish gains".

Eritrea further vowed to stand with the chief of defense forces, noting that he was a victim of US "negative campaigns" whose aim is to "bring our country down". Eritrea also denied any wrongdoing by the EDF, arguing that the US was misinformed about the matter.

The ongoing conflict in Tigray has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis that threatens hundreds of thousands of lives. Despite the Ethiopian government’s June 28 unilateral ceasefire declaration, parties on all sides continue to escalate the conflict.

The EDF reentered Tigray after an initial withdrawal following the June 28 ceasefire. Meanwhile, the TDF has moved into neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, potentially further widening the conflict.

Despite an estimated 5 million people in need of humanitarian aid, and more than 400,000 people experiencing famine conditions, Ethiopian federal and Amhara regional forces continue to restrict humanitarian access, while the Ethiopian government has called for all capable Ethiopians to mobilize to support the campaign in Tigray. These escalators' actions risk furthering a severe humanitarian crisis.

General Filipos is the Chief of Staff of the EDF. In this role, he commands all of the EDF forces that have been operating in Ethiopia. The EDF is responsible for massacres, looting, and sexual assaults. EDF troops have raped, tortured, and executed civilians; they have also destroyed property and ransacked businesses.

The EDF has 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, the US noted.

Internally Displaced Persons [IDPs] in Tigray have described a systematic effort by the EDF to inflict as much harm on the ethnic Tigrayan population as possible in the areas the EDF controls. IDPs reported that in some cases, the EDF used knives or bayonets to slash open the torsos of pregnant women and then left them for dead.

The EDF has forced survivors to leave the bodies of the dead where they lie or face execution themselves. Countless IDPs recounted instances of witnessing the rape, murder, and torture of friends and family members by the EDF.

Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war and a means to terrorize and traumatize the entire population; the majority of rapes are committed by men in uniform, such as the EDF. IDPs also spoke of a “scorched earth” policy intended to prevent IDPs from returning home.

Filipos is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to his tenure, adds the statement.

As a result of Monday’s action, all property and interests in property of the person above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.

In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within [or transiting] the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person, Washington noted.

GAROWE ONLINE