The African Development Bank has withdrawn its international staff from Ethiopia over what it described as a breach of diplomatic protocol and an assault on two of its workers. In a Wednesday statement, AfDB said measures would not affect nationally recruited staff from Ethiopia who would continue their work and remain in full employment of the Bank. These decisions follow the recent breach of diplomatic protocol and assault by Ethiopian security forces on two of the African Development Bank’s international members of staff. “Specifically, on October 31, 2023, two Addis Ababa-based staff members were unlawfully arrested, physically assaulted, and detained for hours without charge or any official explanation. It added that on learning of the incident, AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, immediately contacted the highest levels of authority in the Ethiopian government, following which the Bank’s two staff members were released.

Source: Ethiopian News December 21, 2023 00:54 UTC