The U.S. State Department has doubled down on urgent requests for U.S. citizens to leave Ethiopia as the Biden administration’s top envoy to the region warned that military developments could outpace diplomatic efforts to resolve the country’s conflict. The U.S. State Department has doubled down on urgent requests for U.S. citizens to leave Ethiopia as the Biden administration’s top envoy to the region warned that military developments could outpace diplomatic efforts to resolve the country’s conflict. In recent weeks, the State Department briefed Congress on the potential risk posed to U.S. citizens who remain in Ethiopia as rebel forces advance on the capital. The State Department estimates roughly 30,000 to 40,000 U.S. citizens—including dual nationals—could be in Ethiopia, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. The conflict first started after Abiy dispatched Ethiopian forces into the country’s Tigray region in response to Tigrayan forces attacking a government military installation.

Source: Ethiopian News November 24, 2021 22:06 UTC