US Lifts Sanctions on Eritreans Allegedly Linked to Conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray Region

 The US Department of the Treasury has removed a number of Eritrean individuals and entities allegedly linked to the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region from its sanctions list. The decision is connected to the expiry of the executive order under which the citizens and organizations were sanctioned, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on September 17.

"Due to the expiry of the national emergency regime introduced by Executive Order 14046, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury has removed from the list persons whose assets were subject to blocking," the statement read.

In 2021, the US imposed sanctions under Executive Order 14046 against a group of senior Eritrean politicians and military officers, as well as a number of organizations, accusing the African country's authorities of supporting rebels of Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

OFAC removed from the sanctions list Eritrea's ruling party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the Eritrean Defense Forces, the Red Sea Trading Corporation, the Hidri Trust, as well as senior Eritrean statesmen Hagos Gebrehiwot Weldekiros, Abraha Kassa Nemariam, and others who were linked to the Tigray conflict.

Earlier in September, around 300 fighters of the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in Ethiopia surrendered to federal army units and handed over more than 280 weapons.

In August, the TPLF announced the resumption of hostilities in the western part of the region, accusing Ethiopia's federal government of launching a new offensive.