WASHINGTON - The State Department on Friday said Washington has decided not to lift the pause in assistance to Ethiopia for most programs in the security sector, days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described acts in Tigray as ethnic cleansing. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that while the United States has decided to resume certain types of assistance, including that related to global health and food security, assistance for other programs and most programs in the security sector would remain paused. "Given the current environment in Ethiopia, we have decided not to lift the assistance pause for other programs, including most programs in the security sector," Price said at a news briefing. Blinken, in a call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, discussed the importance of an international investigation into reported human rights abuses in the region, the State Department said Friday. The State Department last month said Washington will unlink its pause on some aid to Ethiopia from its policy on the giant Blue Nile hydropower dam that sparked a long-running dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Source: Ethiopian News March 12, 2021 21:11 UTC