This is its first statement on the conflict since the Joe Biden administration took office last week. Both the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments deny that Eritrean forces are in Tigray, which borders Eritrea. Thousands of people have been killed and about two million people, or one-third of Tigray's population, have fled their homes since conflict broke out in early November. Dialogue between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayans was "essential", and humanitarian aid needed to be "mobilised" immediately because of "credible reports" that hundreds of thousands of people may starve to death, the US state department said. Eritrea appeared to have launched artillery attacks from its side of the border, and had troops in Tigray, though the exact number was unclear, it said. Nearly , Eritreans had lived in four camps in Tigray after fleeing political persecution and military conscription over the last decade. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize in for restoring relations with Mr Isaias' government, almost two decades after the two nations fought a border in Tigray that left up to , people dead. It said it had seized the military bases in a "pre-emptive strike" following a breakdown in relations with Mr Abiy's government.


'Residual fighting continues'


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The US has condemned reported atrocities in Ethiopia's conflict-hit northern region of Tigray, urging the African Union to help resolve the "deteriorating situation. In a report released last week rights group Amnesty International accused troops from neighbouring Eritrea of killing hundreds of people in the ancient city of Aksum on 28 and 29 November, saying the mass killings may amount to a crime against humanity. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, told parliament on 30 November that "not a single civilian was killed" during the operation.
What else did Blinken say?
We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. The conflict in Tigray, the northern region of Ethiopia, has mostly been unfolding under a media blackout since early November. Thousands of civilians have likely died as a result of the crisis. They were sobbing silently, waiting for their turn at the end of a dark corridor — a dozen petrified women, seeking medical check-ups in Adigrat's hospital after having been raped. None of them was willing to utter more than a few words. Every day, Eritrean soldiers come to take medical equipment. Patients and doctors are terrified.
Skip to content. Ethiopian American musician Meklit Hadero hosts an ongoing series at The World about stories of music and migration. People in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region have been enduring a military conflict for four months that has caused nearly 60, people to flee the region to neighboring Sudan to escape violence. As the conflict unfolds, some in the Ethiopian diaspora around the world try to make sense of it and their personal stories of migration and belonging to the country. Among them, Ethiopian American musician and cultural activist Meklit Hadero. Related: Four musicians grapple with the same question: What is home?