Thousands of civilians are believed to have died since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation against leaders in the Tigray region. CNN has previously reported that soldiers in neighboring Eritrea have perpetuated many of the extrajudicial killings, assaults and human rights abuses in the Tigray region.
“The United States is very concerned about the reported atrocities and the general deterioration of the situation in the Ethiopian region, the Tigray,” Blinken said in a statement on Saturday.
“We strongly condemn the killings, relocations and forced displacements, sexual assaults and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by various parties that various organizations have reported to Tigray.” He added that “those responsible for them must be held accountable.”
Eyewitnesses told CNN that a group of Eritrean soldiers opened fire on Maryam Dengelat Church in the village of Dengelat, east of Tigray, on Nov. 30 as hundreds of congregants celebrated Mass. Dozens of people died during three days of chaos, with soldiers killing local residents, displaced people and pilgrims, they said.
Ethiopia responded to CNN’s request for comment with a statement that did not directly address the attack on Dengelat. Eritrea has not yet responded to a request for comment from CNN.
Amnesty International on Friday accused in a report that Eritrean forces killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the city of Axum in November through bombings and indiscriminate shootings and extrajudicial killings, in what the human rights organization said could constitute a crime against humanity.
In his statement, Blinken acknowledged the Ethiopian prime minister’s commitment to providing humanitarian aid to the region and added: “The international community must work collectively to ensure that these commitments are met.
“The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and regional Amhara forces from Tigray are the first essential steps,” Blinken said, referring to forces from Tigray’s neighboring Amhara state in Ethiopia. “They should be accompanied by unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict and a commitment to allow the delivery of unhindered assistance to the people of Tigray.”
Blinken said the United States is committed to working with the international community to achieve these goals and that the U.S. Agency for International Development would send a disaster relief response team to Ethiopia.
“We call on international partners, especially the African Union and regional partners, to work with us to address the Tigray crisis, including through actions at the UN and other relevant bodies,” he added.
After seizing control of Tigray’s major cities in late November, Abiy declared victory and claimed no offensive was wounded. Abiy has also denied that Eritrean soldiers crossed into Tigray to support Ethiopian forces.
CNN’s Barbara Arvanitidis, Nima Elbagir, Bethlehem Feleke, Eliza Mackintosh, Gianluca Mezzofiore, and Katie Polglase contributed to this report.