Ethiopia.. U.S. Senators Urge Sanctions over Violations in Tigray

Two U.S. senators have called on their government to consider imposing sanctions on any political or military officials found to be responsible for human rights violations during a month of conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, Reuters reported.The proposed resolution, which was introduced on Wednesday by Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, and Senator Jim Risch, a Republican, was the first such call by U.S. lawmakers since war between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) broke out on Nov. 4th.Thousands are thought to have been killed during the conflicts, while around million people have been displaced, according to United Nations estimates, about 50,000 of them into Sudan.During the confrontations, where were impossible to verify on ground due to phone lines and internet suspensions, concern has mounted over reports of civilians targeted by both sides, posing a policy dilemma for the United States, which considers Ethiopia an important ally in a volatile region.

According to Reuters, the government has said it will investigate any reports of atrocities or mass killings, but will only allow independent investigations if the government was not able to do so.

Days ago, the Ethiopian army has announced that it captured Tigray's regional capital Mekelle and declared victory but TPLF leaders say they are fighting back on various fronts around the highland city.

The Senate resolution introduced by Cardin and Risch also called on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the TPLF to stop hostilities and pursue a peaceful resolution to the war.

"The ongoing fighting in Tigray has already cost thousands of lives and created a humanitarian crisis of disastrous proportions, threatening the long-term stability not only of Ethiopia, but the entire region," Cardin said in a statement after the resolution was introduced.

Civilians fleeing fighting in Tigray last month told Reuters that they witnessed bombing by government warplanes, shooting on the streets, and people being hacked to death with machetes.

Rights group Amnesty International said scores and probably hundreds of people were stabbed or hacked to death in the town of Mai Kadra in Tigray less than a week after the war began.

Ethiopia's state-appointed human rights commission's initial report found that an estimated 600 civilians were killed in that attack.